Building the Case5 / 12
Energy Cost Baseline & Forecast
Current consumption and cost; price escalation assumption (2-3% p.a. typical).
10 min read · Jacob Willis, Net Zero Lead · Last reviewed July 2026
Every investment case rests on a foundation of fact: what the organisation currently spends on energy, and what it would spend in future without the project. Establishing this baseline accurately is the starting point for credibly quantifying any saving.
In this lesson
- 01Why the baseline matters
- 02Establishing current energy cost
- 03Forecasting future costs
- 04The rising baseline effect
- 05Avoiding baseline errors
- 06Normalising for fair comparison
- 07From baseline to savings
- 08Sources and further reading