FirstEnergy Solutions (FES), a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., announced Tuesday that it will be exiting the electric retail market for mass market and mid-sized commercial and industrial customers. FES will serve their existing customers through their contract terms but will eliminate any selling or renewal efforts to mid-C&I and mass markets. “[W]e intend to exit the medium commercial and industrial or MCI and mass market retail channels as existing contracts expire, but we will continue to serve strategic large industrial and commercial customers as well as our governmental aggregation and POLR channels as appropriate,” FirstEnergy Corp. CEO Anthony Alexander said.
The move towards a more conservative retail strategy means that First Energy Solutions will reduce their exposure to the volatile markets that accompany weather sensitive retail loads. Residential, as well as small and medium C&I customers’ demand is directly affected by weather trends which make them “weather sensitive loads”. The way that residential and smaller load sized accounts’ demand reacts to the extreme temperatures and the way in which the market responds to meet these demands does not fit with a risk-adverse buying strategy. FirstEnergy’s desire to continue to serve select large commercial and industrial customers is based on the fact that an industrial customer’s load factor is generally predictable and steady, not as susceptible to weather fluctuations. A predictable and steady load factor gives FirstEnergy more flexibility to take advantage of market upsides and preserve their position in a manner less dependent on the volatile markets.
Currently, FirstEnergy Solutions serves customers in Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. If you are a FirstEnergy Solutions customer, Power Management can help you find a competitive supplier once your contract ends. In the 17 years that Power Management has been in business, we have experienced similar situations as suppliers enter and exit the marketplace as circumstances dictate. Power Management has always been and will continue to be a constant, reliable partner in the ever-changing energy industry.