Electical Contractor

The first step for an electrical contractor that is considering entering or expanding its presence in the energy services market is to identify the target customers.

Home energy management (HEM) continues to be a growing opportunity for electrical contractors. With the increased energy-efficiency concerns of consumers, along with utility energy-efficiency programs in both deregulated and more highly regulated markets, there’s greater demand.

In last month’s column, we explored the benefits of allowing employees to contribute and using more of their experience, talents and creativity, even when it is painful to hear their opinions about how management runs the company.

Valerie Chan, president of Electricwork Solutions Inc., Oakland, Calif., began her business in 2005. She is a one-person operation, with 30 to 40 percent of her business being low-voltage work.


Business managers are taught that goals and benchmarks must be measurable to be achievable, but not everything that affects the success of your company can be analyzed.

There’s an old joke about Michelangelo in which he explains how he was able to create his enormous 6-ton, 17-foot-high sculpture of the young, biblical hero David: Michelangelo shrugs his shoulders and confesses, “I just chipped away everything that did not look like David.”

“The new and emerging energy market is creating quite a buzz among ECs at conferences like Lightfair International with LED lighting at the center of the conversation,” said Steven Witz, vice president, Continental Electrical Construction Co., Oak Brook, Ill.

With electricity demand in the United States predicted to grow by at least 40 percent by 2032, business could be impacted by higher operating costs and reduced profits from increased energy demand and constrained supply, a decline in sales of energy-using products, a loss of competitiveness in energ

Large corporations and general contractors have evaluated the safety programs and performance of subcontractors—including electrical contractors—for years. Now, the number of companies evaluating contractors seems to be growing.