Client’s Challenging Situation:
An Eastern Canadian retail energy marketer was frustrated because efforts to procure natural gas supply were not taken seriously by major energy suppliers and producers. Certain Eastern Canadian retailers had been overly aggressive and attracted government and regulator attention. Major energy companies did not want to have their brands ‘tainted’ by supplying retail marketers.
Scope of the Problem:
All retail energy marketers in Eastern Canada were affected. The largest energy marketers were affected the most because credit restrictions were beginning to replace the “handshake & trust” agreements that could be relied upon in the past. Written agreements would follow the “handshake & trust” agreements; however, people did not back out of deals following verbal commitments.
Our Solution:
We created a 2-phase natural gas supply solution:
- We created arrangements where we supplied “wholesale” natural gas to the retail marketers we trusted, and
- With our “skin in the game”, we created arrangements where the most innovative major oil and gas suppliers and producers provided part of the supply to our retail clients. As trust grew between the parties, we increased the volume of natural gas supplied by the major oil and gas suppliers and producers. We charged a small commodity-based fee for this service.
The Value Delivered:
The retail energy marketers we able to purchase more natural gas. This allowed a few of them to “go public” through IPOs and grow into large businesses. The major oil and gas suppliers and producers became active participants in the Eastern Canadian natural gas marketplace.