Our Competitive Advantage: Value
GREEN POWER 4 TEXAS creates value for industrial, commercial & residential electricity clients in four ways: 1) we analyze, 2) we negotiate, 3) we equip, & 4) we care.
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We analyze.
Since natural gas prices directly determine electricity prices in Texas, we follow the natural gas markets constantly. Keeping up with volatile market prices can be challenging for clients' in-house employees, since natural gas & electricity prices can swing 10% in a day or even 30% in a week.
No one can really "time the market," but careful, constant study of the many factors influencing electricity prices -- e.g., natural gas markets, energy markets, financial markets, consumer & business demand, weather patterns, political instability, legislation, disruptive technologies, etc. -- can provide important insights that can more than offset our commission in one day's price fluctuation.
Furthermore, we closely & frequently compare the dynamic terms & conditions, reputations, credit worthiness, service quality, value, & prices among the more than 40 REPs serving the Texas market so that our customers can make well informed decisions.
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We negotiate.
Clients can procure electricity in three ways: 1) direct, 2) brokered, or 3) aggregated.
DIRECT
While it is possible to request electricity prices directly from REPs through their in-house, direct sales teams, our retail electricity clients continue to confirm that our negotiated prices, terms & conditions beat those that clients receive directly from REPs. Clients also appreciate how we protect clients' best interests, whereas REPs do not willingly advise prospects about the fairness of their offers relative to other REPs' electricity products. In the end, clients prefer to keep doing what they do best while we do what we do best. Similarly, most REPs prefer to focus on their operations, relying heavily on the low-cost independent Aggregator-Broker-Consultant (ABC) Channel to reach & service customers through personal relationships. The ABC Channel accounts for 50-100% of REPs' business.
BROKERS
Just about any person or company can become an electricity broker. In most deregulated markets, no relevant experience, certification or license is even required to be an electricity broker. And, the vast majority of brokers do not disclose their commissions to customers, which can be exorbitant. Texas happens to be the nation's most broker-saturated market, with a couple of REPs even marketing electricity through part-time, multi-level marketing agents.
GREEN POWER 4 TEXAS' team includes sophisticated, experienced consultants with energy management, sustainable real estate, & business administration expertise & training. For example, the firm's team includes consultants who have passed the Association of Energy Engineers' Certified Energy Manager exam, passed the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Accredited Professional exam, & graduated with Masters in Business Administration. And, the firm is one of only a few renewable energy suppliers that is a member of the US Green Building Council (since January 2003).
And, GREEN POWER 4 TEXAS is one of few firms that discloses to clients its commission structure.
We maintain Broker Agreements with a broad, select group of the leading 'green' Retail Electric Providers (REPs) who are genuinely committing to sustainability beyond their products to their property, processes & people. Some of our REP partners are carbon neutral & even operate from LEED® certified office spaces. Nonetheless, you are our client, not the REPs.
We negotiate the best rates for 20% to 100% utility green electricity on our customers' behalf individually ("brokered") or, occasionally, as part of a voluntary buying group ("aggregation"). These & other REPs discount their prices to us because REPs rely heavily on their Indirect Sales Channel - the ABC Channel (i.e., aggregators, brokers & consultants) - to support customers efficiently, accounting for 50-100% of their commercial sales. So, we can secure better pricing for you than if you were to contact each directly.
AGGREGATORS
Aggregators, on the other hand, must be registered with (that is, approved by) the Public Utility Commission of Texas based on a thorough, lengthy application proving relevant experience & transparency, as well as report annually.
Registered aggregators are legally able to coordinate voluntary buying groups (“aggregations”) of business & residential electricity customers in competitive, deregulated markets across Texas. Despite the challenges of simultaneously coordinating multiple parties & managing the associated paperwork, business aggregations tend to be the most rewarding to all involved, much like the benefits of membership warehouses carrying brand name merchandise at substantially lower prices than typical retailers.
Momentum Bay is Texas’ first electricity aggregator focused on exclusively green electricity (Registration Certificate #80247), among about 200 aggregators registered with the Public Utility Commission of Texas. (Other aggregators include McDonald's Corporation, H.E. Butt Grocery Company, & The Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.)
Shopping with an aggregator may be able to secure better rates, terms & conditions if a customer can join other similar customers (i.e., with the same load profile, usage levels, contract start date & desired contract length). In fact, customers may be able to earn up to a 30% bulk discount relative to Retail Electric Providers’ (REPs) current offers for 100% green electricity.
TRANSPARENT & FAIR PRICING
Aggregators & brokers like GREEN POWER 4 TEXAS are compensated directly by REPs for sales, general & administrative services on a usage-based commission basis, which is priced into each aggregation’s energy rate (e.g., $0.001/kWh TO $0.005 / kWh). We receive commissions either monthly, upfront, or part upfront and part at the end. So, our customers pay no additional fees to us while they enjoy significant savings on REPs' best prices for renewable electricity.
Rather than paying taxes on the embedded broker / aggregator commission fee, clients may elect to compensate the firm mostly upfront & separately for its full-service energy management services.
We are among the few brokers to disclose to clients our commissions, which are sometimes up to 80% less than competitors' commissions. For customers that have implemented corporate sustainability initiatives or that occupy green buildings or green homes (e.g., ENERGY STAR® labeled or LEED® certified or registered), we discount our broker commission rate even more.
Why & how would we do this? Shorter sales cycle & simplified customer service because you already speak our language & are helping us create a healthy, sustainable Texas profitably and practically.
And, in a volatile, somewhat confusing & "cowboy" industry where brokers have been known to hide huge, unfair commissions in their quotes, customers have been hurt. We're happy to demystify the industry for our customers & disclose our discounted & fair commissions.
Fortunately, our integrated business approach & diverse revenue streams - from green management consulting, green building consulting, green training, etc. - enable us to help you purchase renewable energy without typically exorbitant broker commissions & higher margins if you were to shop directly from Retail Electric Providers, which can be double or even triple any premium for 100% renewable electricity. And, the savings, risk mitigation, service & other value we create for clients usually far surpasses the commission & negligible premium for green power.
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We equip.
GREEN POWER 4 TEXAS helps its clients discover practical ways to use less energy more effectively & to green their lives, homes & organizations. Momentum Bay the sustainability & strategy consulting side of our business rewards green energy clients with discounted green learning.
Our customers learn how to reduce their electricity bills for years to come beyond just great rates, via new/old technologies & better habits.
For instance, through good, old-fashioned conservation, we helped Texas' healthiest, most sustainable K-12 school among 10,000+ schools reduce their electricity usage year-over-year 58%+ even after they had occupied the highest rated LEED certified green school in Texas. Yes, this substantially reduced our commissions.
GREEN POWER 4 TEXAS clients receive a 25% discount on our ECO [BOOT CAMP] for Real Estate Professionals & GREEN [BOOT CAMP] for Households 4-hour courses for up to six months from their initial or renewal electricity purchase.
Throughout the term of an electricity client's contract, a client may enjoy other valuable & relevant services for FREE or at a DISCOUNT, such as:
- the SUSTAINABLE TEXAS® SM blog
- Momentum Bay's Founder Mark Robinson, a corporate sustainability consultant & green building expert; Robinson served as the first Sustainability Manager globally for the nation's leading owner, developer & property manager of green office buildings; Robinson is also often a public speaker or panelist on the topics of corporate sustainability, sustainable real estate, & renewable energy, so that your organization can stay up-to-date with the fast changing (and increasingly mandatory) world of sustainability, particularly in your industry & locale
- Momentum Bay's proprietary green building market research studies
- Momentum Bay's presentations
- Momentum Bay's educational videos about sustainability & Texas Green Building ToursSM (perhaps even becoming the focus of one of our educational videos)
- Analysis of your organization's carbon / greenhouse gas emissions potential liability (risk exposure) & mitigation alternatives
- Ongoing monitoring & analysis of your electricity, natural gas & water usage & bills
- Setup & maintenance of an ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager record for each eligible building
- Marketing support (e.g., easily understood wording for advertising & media releases regarding your organization's dollars, energy & greenhouse gas emissions avoided overall & per square foot because of your energy efficiency measures & green power purchase relative to other conventional buildings & organizations
- Identification of financial & other incentives for your organization's green power purchases & energy efficiency retrofits or process improvements
- Energy audits, fundamental commissioning, enhanced commissioning, continuous commissioning
- Energy modeling
- LEED project management & LEED consulting
- & much more.
Why are we bundling electricity & training? We recognize that:- people account for more than 85% of an organization’s costs, while energy accounts for less than 1%
- the best alternative energy is conservation
- changing bad habits is tough; and
- most of us are not aware of why & how so many other households, businesses & industrialized countries have improved their quality of life, economies, communities, environment & honored God through more sustainable practices.
How else can we live up to Washington DC’s recent challenge to reduce our nation’s gasoline usage by 20% in 10 years? And, reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050?
We care.
Thanks to our diverse revenue sources, low overhead & extensive long-term relationships in Texas’ business, environmental, & faith communities – all members of our aggregations, we are often able to accept lower gross commissions than conventional brokers & aggregators & pass on more savings to our community (e.g., lower because we work with clients to reduce their energy usage & demand charges substantially).
We view green power sales as a service, benefit & ministry to our extended family of friends, clients, businesses, churches, schools, and others who are committed to creating a healthy, sustainable Texas for generations to come.
Fortunately, an anonymous donor has also agreed to further our mission to create a healthy, sustainable Texas by making a donation to select local, faith-based, and/or environmental nonprofits on behalf of each purchase.