Cork food giants choose Energia
A north Cork company has signed a two-year electricity contract worth €14m with electricity supplier, Energia.
Leading cash and carry and wholesale food distributors, Barry’s Of Mallow signed the multi-million euro deal which establishes Energia as the preferred electricity provider to more than 200 Costcutter and Quik Pick stores around the country.
Energia won the contract as part of a competitive tender process, that will see the independent electricity firm supplying an electricity requirement in the order of 1.2 megawatts — the equivalent power usage of more than 1,200 houses.
The contract also includes a major warehouse at the headquarters of Barry’s of Mallow in north Cork.
The total electricity spend of the 200 plus Costcutter and Quik Pick stores in Ireland is estimated to be in the region of €14m over the next two years.
Established in 1955, Barry’s of Mallow employs more than 200 people and has an annual turnover of €180m.
It is also a member of independent wholesale group Stonehouse, which last year formed a €2bn buying alliance with Superquinn.
John McAllen, chief operations officer with Barry’s, said: “Barry’s of Mallow has seen considerable expansion and is now one of the largest independent suppliers to the retail sector. Moving forward, we want to build on this market position and we believe making business decisions which will save our franchise customers money is the first step.
“Energia fulfilled this requirement and therefore, they were the natural choice,” he added.
Barry’s is one of more than 13,000 businesses — or 56% of the market — eligible to choose their own electricity supplier under the current rules of deregulation.
Full market opening will take place on February 19, at which time all businesses will be free to choose their own electricity supplier.
