ENERGY SERVICE PROVIDERS ARE LISTED BY THE DOZENS on public utility commission Web sites, often with direct links to the companies themselves. Even so, picking out 10 to watch for their commercial and industrial activity isn't an easy task.
There's no reliable volume data. There's no organization rating the services each of these vendors offers. The ESPs themselves are either reticent about disclosing data or overly boastful. There's no ready apples-to-apples comparison of ESPs available for prospective C&I customers. Still, who is who among ESPs is a legitimate question.
This roundup, while in no way comprehensive, offers a look at leading ESPs - some picked for their geographic reach, others for their volume, and some, despite their small size, for the buzz their offerings have created in the marketplace among their peers and customers.
Chasing Margin, Not Share
AllEnergy Marketing Co. LLC, Waltham, Mass.
Ownership: A New England Electric System business unit.
Employees: 119, working in five New England states and New Jersey.
Business Volume: $70 million; includes natural gas.
Goal: To be profitable, not necessarily through market share.
Largest Customers: Would not disclose, but has less than 10 electric C&I customers.
Competitors: Exelon, Select Energy.
What Defines the Company: Selectivity in targeting power markets.
Company/Product Sketch: John H. Dickson, president and COO, says bluntly that his company is "trying to make money."