Global energy demand is predicted to increase dramatically over the next 25 years, forcing energy prices to rise accordingly. In order to alleviate the impact of this energy price rise, more and more research is focusing on the efficient utilisation of energy. The research work presented here focuses on the manufacturing sector and provides an insight into the level of energy transparency that can be achieved by connecting an effective energy metering system to a robust energy management platform in order to monitor and control the energy requirements of a manufacturing plant. As the level of energy transparency increases, the number of meters, quantity of data and complexity of data handling increases correspondingly. Achieving total energy visibility within a manufacturing facility allows management to accurately identify, prioritise and record new opportunities for improving overall energy efficiency. The development and application of energy consumption metrics then allows energy performance to be monitored on a continuous basis. The results of this study highlight the benefits associated with disaggregating the total electrical consumption into significant energy users and monitoring each user independently.