Energy Plus sells and buys energy (electricity and natural guys) in the open market (NJ: ESL-0087 and GSL-0100). The company was founded by Richard Vague and Kevin Kleinschmidt in 2007 and recently relocated to 3711 Market Street in Philadelphia, PA, where the company is now occupying 1 floor. The officers of Energy Plus claim that the company employs ~140 people (2011) and established approximately $150M in sales in 2010 (up $60M from 2009). Sales for 2011 are anticipated in the $250M range^[1][2].

Certain states allow companies like Energy Plus to offer their services in order to stimulate competition in the energy market, e.g. giving consumers the option to choose from whom they would like to purchase their energy / energy services. To date the effectiveness of this policy has not been established. Energy Plus offers electricity and natural gas at "market driven" rates according to their company website. It is unclear if this means lower pricing than offered by the main energy distribution companies. Energy Plus differentiates itself by offering different reward programs (air miles/points, cash back, education rewards, hotel/rail rewards, retail rewards)^[3].

The company's corporate office is located on one floor at 3711 Market Street in Philadelphia, PA. The company appears not to own any electricity or natural gas facilities or distribution infrastructure.

The executive officers of Energy Plus for the majority have a banking and/or financial background. A significant proportion of the Team was previously employed at Mr. Vague's Barclaycard US organization or has a history in energy wholesale / hedging.

Richard Vague: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Richard Vague is one of the co-founders of Energy Plus. Before founding Energy Plus, Mr. Vague was co-founder and CEO of Barclaycard US (formerly Juniper Bank) as well as co-founder and CEO of First USA, successfully establishing a credit card company. No evidence of experience in the energy market other than his career at Energy Plus has been identified to date.

Joanna Vague Hamrick: General Counsel and Managing Director of Regulatory Affairs

Kevin Kleinschmidt: President and Chief Operation Officer, 38 years old ^[4]

Mr. Kleinschmidt was Managing Director of Partnership Marketing and Strategic Planning for Barclaycard US (formerly Juniper Bank).

Paul Frantz, Chief Marketing Officer

Previously, Mr. Frantz held senior marketing positions within the financial services industry at Barclaycard US, First USA and American Express.

Megan Basilio, Managing Director of Strategic Market Development

Previously, Ms. Basilio held senior marketing positions within the financial services industry at Barclaycard US, First USA and Bank of New York. She holds a BS from the University of Delaware in Finance and Marketing.

Steve Barnes: Chief Financial Officer

Previously, Mr. Barnes was Managing Director and CFO of Novitas Capital, Director of Finance and Investor Relations at Voxware, Inc. and a Manager at KPMG. He holds an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, a BS in Accountancy from Villanova University and is a CPA.

Joe Holtman: Managing Director of Wholesale Supply Operations

Previously, Mr. Holtman held senior positions within the energy industry at Liberty Power, Con Edison, Orange and Rockland and Mirant: Vice President at Liberty Power, 2008 - 2010 (2 years), Responsible for purchase and hedging of electric energy supply in 16 states. Director-Electricity Supply at Consolidated Edison Company of New York, 2002 - 2008 (6 years), Purchase of over $3 billion/year in wholesale electric energy, including contract management,financial hedging, billing and market analysis.

Hugh Scott: Chief Information Officer

Hugh Scott joined Energy Plus in 2010. Previously, Mr. Scott held executive positions in both North America and Europe within the energy, telecommunications and banking industries. Mr. Scott joins Energy Plus from Direct Energy Residential where he was Chief Process Officer and VP of Information Services. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from Warwick University.

Energy Plus does not provide rate information or rate performance on their company web-site or through any other written source. Below performance data collected by the author to date (comparison to JCP&L in New Jersey):