Weather coverage for Gruppo Pam: Enel’s energy for a changing world

«Our development across the territory is closely linked to the concept of energy», explains Luigi Palladino, Energy & Procurement Manager of Gruppo Pam. This is the key phrase to explain the relationship between one of the leaders in organized large-scale distribution in Italy and Enel Energia, a partnership born in 2016 and developed around increasingly innovative content. Gruppo Pam is a customer with around 1,000 directly operated stores, consuming 300 GWh annually, with «ever-growing energy needs», adds Palladino. The evolution of energy needs depends not only on the expansion of an increasingly large network but also on Pam’s sustainable strategy, whose pillars are reduced environmental impact, aggressive containment of consumption and electrification. It is within this context that the weather coverage designed by Enel Energia was born, the solution that allows the group to be more resilient when facing and managing increasingly hotter summers. «Air conditioning supermarkets represents 10% of the network’s total annual consumption. A summer just one degree hotter can cost up to half a million euros more in consumption», explains Palladino, «weather coverage is an important parachute. And the first data from summer 2021 already tells us that we are above average».

«Our strength is being a reliable and credible operator in the core business, able to interpret markets and optimize spending. But with Gruppo Pam we went further, such a demanding customer required the search for innovative tools», explains Marco Frattini, Head of the North East Macro Area of Enel Energia. Weather coverage is the flagship of this search because it is a solution that protects Pam from one of the major risks of contemporary business: the impact of the climate emergency on costs. In this case, we are talking about thermal risks: in a summer hotter than the average of historical trends, weather coverage provides for a reduction in the unit cost of energy, stabilizing this cost item and allowing Pam to face abnormal temperatures without problems. In this way, the heat risk and the resulting bill damage are minimized. Weather coverage is part of Enel Energia’s strategies to be a 360-degree environmental partner. Frattini explains: «On the one hand, decarbonization and electrification are our pillars for fighting the climate crisis, a path we undertake together with our customers to enable them to be part of the great change, the ecological and energy transition. On the other hand, it is also important to provide tools that can mitigate the already present effects of global warming, just like weather coverage».

The relationship between Pam and Enel Energia was born in 2016 as technical support to resolve some supply issues for a new opening. It was a small contract, but from it a great story was born. «Presenting ourselves immediately as an interlocutor capable of quickly solving a critical situation was a key factor», explains Frattini. Since then, the journey taken together has consolidated, fueled by the strategic and visionary affinity between the two companies. «Pam proved to be a conscious and evolved customer from an energy perspective. We immediately understood that they were demanding on two fronts: the pursuit of competitiveness and environmental sustainability», adds Frattini. «Ultimately, our approaches are similar, even if applied in different markets: absolute centrality of the customer and sustainable innovation». According to Palladino, Pam and Enel Energia also share a visceral and almost existential bond with the territory: «We are both bearers of an important part of Italian identity. We have a great history behind us and a strong will for development, innovation, dynamism, and sustainability».

Sustainability is the main road to grow in a changing world, respecting the needs of the planet and people. This is the deepest point of contact between Enel Energia’s vision and that of Pam. Sustainability is not only a moral duty towards future generations. According to Palladino, «it is also a primary driver of growth, through good environmental impact practices, packaging optimization, waste reduction and the absolute quality of products. What we want is for customers to know that under our brand there is a sustainable creation and commercialization journey. It is not simply a series of procedures, sustainability for us is an approach that involves all functions and also passes through the choice of suppliers». And that is why Pam’s path towards sustainability especially passes through energy. «It swings between the second and third place among the cost items in our income statement», concludes Palladino. A way to explain why weather coverage and the alliance with Enel Energia are so important. Tools for a changing world.