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The Bord Gáis Energy Trading Team is responsible for buying gas and electricity on the international wholesale markets for use in Ireland. Based in Cork, the team play a vital role in delivering the energy needs of our business customers. Our dedicated team of traders operate 24 hours a day to global best practice standards.

This month, we’re introducing two members of the trading team: David Grainger, Gas Trading Manager and Joe Egan, Gas Trader.

David Grainger

Tell us about your role

I have been working with Bord Gáis Energy since 2008 and have been managing the Gas Trading Desk since 2013. I oversee a team of gas traders and our primary responsibility is to manage the gas exposure of Bord Gáis Energy and our customers in the most optimal way.

What advice would you give regarding business energy management?

The single best way of reducing your costs in the long run is to become more energy-efficient. Energy prices might go up or down in the coming years, but energy costs remain a key issue for most of our industrial and commercial customers.

At Bord Gáis Energy, we are actively helping our customers to reduce their energy costs through investment in new technology to generate electricity, or technology that allows you to comprehensively monitor your energy usage. These energy solutions are available through our partner, Centrica Business Solutions.

What is i-SEM and what does it mean for the energy market?

The integrated Single Electricity Market (i-SEM) is a new Europe-wide energy market that replaced the Single Energy Market (SEM). It has been introduced to harmonise cross-border trading arrangements and create a more active and dynamic energy marketplace across Europe. Bord Gáis Energy has been preparing for this new system for the last five years. Our team will closely monitor how i-SEM impacts the energy market over the coming months and use these insights to identify ways to offer even better value to customers.

Joe Egan

Tell us about your role

I have worked on the Gas Trading Desk since 2014, managing gas positions and exposures for retail and commercial customers. Much of my day is spent analysing weather forecasts, gas demand, domestic gas production, pipeline imports, gas storage levels and the flow of LNG tankers, which deliver liquified natural gas to myriad gas markets worldwide. Another important aspect of the role is monitoring oil, coal and carbon markets, as changes to the broader energy complex can be crucial in determining the future direction of gas prices.

In Association with

How does your work impact on businesses?

For many of our large industrial and commercial customers, energy costs are second only to staff costs. We meet and speak with many of our larger customers on an almost daily basis, explaining and analysing price moves, trends and events affecting gas, oil, coal and carbon markets. We also publish several reports for customers, including our morning energy report and the Bord Gáis Energy Index, a monthly publication looking at energy market trends. The Energy Index is a helpful way for Bord Gáis Energy to add an informed level of commentary to the public debate around global wholesale energy prices that impact every business in the country.

What advice would you give regarding business energy management?

Expect the unexpected and treat future forecasts with a healthy dose of scepticism. Factors emerge all the time that influence the direction in which markets are headed. This can range from weather forecasts, nuclear plant outages, hurricanes, Brexit and Trump tweets.

Visit www.bordgaisenergy.ie or call us today on 01 611 01 33 to find out how Bord Gais Energy can help your business, now and in the future.

Pictured: David Grainger (right) and Joe Egan (left)