Amigo Energy
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| Type | Private, subsidiary of Fulcrum Power Services |
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| Industry | Electricity |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Houston, Texas, United States |
| Area served | Texas |
| Services | Retail electricity services |
| Parent | Fulcrum Retail Holdings |
| Website | www.amigoenergy.com |
Amigo Energy is a privately owned, full-service retail electricity provider (REP) for residential and commercial customers, located in Houston, TX, United States. Amigo Energy was founded in 2003, and has provided electricity to customers across nearly all deregulated areas in Texas.[1]
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[edit] History
Javier Vega founded Amigo Energy with his father Antonio Vega in 2003.[2]
In May, 2007 the company was acquired by Fulcrum Power Services.[citation needed]
In August 2007, Amigo signed a four-year, $7.5 million sponsorship agreement for Amigo Energy to become the jersey sponsor for the Houston Dynamo,[2] a Major League Soccer team.
In 2008, Fulcrum Energy terminated CEO Javier Vega's employment, and Vega sued.[3] According to final court documents, "defendant Fulcrum was the prevailing party".[4]
In August 2011, Fulcrum, including its subsidiary Amigo, was acquired by Canadian firm Just Energy.[5]
[edit] Awards
In 2010, Amigo Energy was ranked #2 in the J.D. Power and Associates Customer Satisfaction Index Ranking.[6]
As of September, 2011, Amigo Energy was ranked as "Better Than Most" in all qualification areas by J.D. Power and Associates.[7]
[edit] Industry
Amigo Energy is an electricity retailer that operates as one of 71 independent power marketers participating in deregulation of the Texas electricity market. Amigo ranks as the 17th largest power marketer by number of consumers according to a 2009 U.S. Energy Information Administration report.[8] In Texas, retailers are not permitted to own power generation plants.[9] Generators are owned by power generation companies who sell the electricity they produce to retail companies, who in turn sell this power to end consumers. In order to deliver the electricity from the power plants to end consumers, Transmission and Distribution companies own the hardware – wires, meters, service trucks, etc. and also collect the meter data that are necessary for the electric industry to function. So retailers pay a service fee to the Transmission and Distribution companies on behalf of every customer, and they also pay power generation companies for the total amount of power that the end consumers use. The retailer tracks all of these costs and performs complex forecasts that ensure that they can offer a single billed rate to the customer while providing billing services, customer support, regulatory compliance, and effective customer communications.
In 2002, Texas began the process of deregulation by passing Senate Bill 7.[10] One purpose of this bill was to increase competition in the previously monopolized electric utility market and result in customers switching their service patronage to retail electric providers not affiliated with the original incumbent monopolies. In the first few years of power deregulation, the Public Utility Commission set a “Price to Beat”,[11] which was a premium price that the original incumbents must charge their customers. This allowed the new competitive retail electric companies to offer a lower price. The price to beat ended in January, 2007,[12] and the original incumbents began offering competitive prices as well. Today, all retailers in Texas compete for customers based on price, customer service, and marketing effectiveness. According to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, as of August, 2011, 56.2% of all meters in the deregulated territory (3.7 million) have switched away from the original incumbent providers and are receiving service from competitive retailers,[13] including Amigo Energy.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) enforces customer protection laws for the citizens of Texas and provides access to consumer information. An important industry advance approved by the PUCT is discussed in this article on Smart Meter deployment across Texas (see reference).[14]
[edit] References
- ^ Amigo Energy "About Us", September, 2011, http://www.amigoenergy.com/about-us.aspx
- ^ a b Dynamo sports soccer sombrero as Amigo Energy sponsors team, August 26, 2007, http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2007/08/27/story6.html?page=all
- ^ "'Plantif's Third Amended Petition', Harris County Clerk cause #200867819, document #45299105", 04/23/2010, http://www.hcdistrictclerk.com/eDocs/Public/Search.aspx?Tab=tabCivil
- ^ "'Order On Requests For Attorney's Fees and Costs', Harris County Clerk cause #200867819, document #50736112, page 2, paragraph 3", 12/06/2011, http://www.hcdistrictclerk.com/eDocs/Public/Search.aspx?Tab=tabCivil
- ^ "Just Energy to Buy Fulcrum's Retail Electricity Business in $79M Deal", 08/25/2011, http://www.proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/17606/just-energy-to-buy-fulcrums-retail-electricity-business-in-79m-deal-17606.html
- ^ J.D. Power and Associates Report - Texas Retail Electricity Companies, 2010, http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/JDPAContent/CorpComm/News/content/Releases/pdf/2010157-txrr.pdf
- ^ J.D. Power 2011 Texas Residential Retail Electric Provider Customer Satisfaction Study, 2011, http://www.jdpower.com/homes/ratings/texas-electric-retailer-ratings/
- ^ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Class of Ownership, Number of Consumers, Sales, Revenue, and Average Retail Price by State and Utility: All Sectors”, 2009, http://www.eia.gov/cneaf/electricity/esr/table10.html
- ^ State of Texas Electric Utility Education Program, 2011, http://powertochoose.com/_content/_about/electricity_basics.asp#heading-4
- ^ State of Texas Electric Utility Restructuring Legislative Oversight Committee, September 29, 2004, http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/commit/c850/c850_78.htm
- ^ City of Houston Consumer Choice Program, 2008, http://www.houstonconsumerchoice.com/utilityinfo.asp#p
- ^ The Dawn of Electricity Competition: Efficient Prices and Efficient Choices, June 6, 2007, http://www.defgllc.com/content/Publications/06_06_2007_article.asp
- ^ ERCOT Historical Number of Premises Switched (MS PowerPoint file), August, 2011, http://ercot.com/content/mktinfo/retail/kd/Switched_Premise_Report_EOM_2011_08.ppt
- ^ Official Public Utilities Commission of Texas Smart Metering Information, 2011, http://www.puc.state.tx.us/consumer/electricity/Metering.aspx
