New Jersey electricity company NRG Energy, Inc., operator of nine Connecticut power plants, on Tuesday spent $190 million for an energy retailer operating in Connecticut that will expand its Northeast footprint.
Rather than simply generating power through its plants, a retail energy business gives NRG the ability to sell electricity and natural gas directly to consumers in regulated states such as Connecticut. While state utility companies such as Connecticut Light & Power and Connecticut Natural Gas Co. will still deliver the energy, the retail suppliers are paid for providing the electricity and natural gas.
The purchase on Tuesday of Philadelphia-based Energy Plus Holdings LLC expands NRG’s retail customer base in the Northeast, as 90 percent of Energy Plus customers reside in Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Illinois.
NRG President and CEO David Crane said the purchase allows the company to increase its marketshare in the retail energy market, especially since the company’s power plants can provide wholesale support that most other retailer energy suppliers don’t have.
