Announcements

Announcements

Any opinions voiced in the articles linked below are those of the article authors only, and not necessarily endorsed by Competitive Assets.

May 2, 2017

WELCOME TO THE NEW TEXAS ROSE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 

As of April 3, 2018 Texas ROSE (Ratepayers’ Organization to Save Energy) has a new Executive Director.  Long-time executive director Carol Biedrzycki says “I am very pleased to introduce Pamela Ferris who has accepted the challenge of advocating for affordable electricity and a healthy environment.” 

Ms. Ferris comes to Texas ROSE with an impressive history of community service.  She graduated from Michigan State University’s College of Engineering.  She started her career as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching Chemistry and Mathematics in Ghana. 

Ms. Ferris’ other experiences include working for the Michigan Senate and the Lansing Chamber of Commerce where she gained experience in government relations and management. With the Michigan Nature Association, she was involved in writing grants.  

Ms. Ferris also worked for the Michigan Community Action Agency Association (MCAAA).  At MCAAA she was a fund raiser, grant writer and program manager. She developed and executed energy efficiency grants and advocated for energy efficiency for low-income families.  Assuring fiscal and programmatic compliance with grant requirements was another focus of her work. 

You are cordially invited to an open house coffee meet and greet on Thursday April 19, 8:30 to 10 am, Conference Room, 2101 S IH 35 Suite 300, Austin. TX  78741.  Please RSVP to carolb@texasrose.org.

May 2, 2017

Press Release: President and CEO of Entrust Energy Named to Houston Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2017

HOUSTON (May 2, 2017) – Layne Loessin, President and CEO of Entrust Energy and graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio (Class of 2001, B.A., Economics), has been named to the Houston Business Journal’s (HBJ) 40 Under 40 Class of 2017.

Each year, HBJ recognizes 40 of the Greater Houston area’s top up-and-coming professionals under the age of 40. Honorees have to be nominated and are chosen by judges based on leadership, overcoming challenges and community involvement.

“I’m deeply humbled and honored to receive this special recognition. It is an even greater honor to be placed among such distinguished ranks as those of the current and past honorees,” said Loessin who has been in the energy industry for over 15 years.  According to HBJ, hundreds of individuals from across all industries were nominated and this year’s honorees included CEOs and other leaders at a variety of for-profit and nonprofit organizations.

Loessin, who was the seventh employee of Entrust Energy, joined the organization in 2011 as Vice President of Supply. In 2015, Loessin was promoted to the role of President and CEO. Under his leadership, Entrust Energy has experienced considerable growth in both customers and market reach. Over the last two years, the Company has also expanded into eight markets and 36 utilities and today serves more than 200,000 customers.

“This is a well-deserved honor for Layne,” said Richard Poole, Chairman of the Board, Entrust Energy. “When it came time to select our new President and CEO in 2015, we looked no further than our internal talent. Layne’s keen business sense, strategic vision and passion for people made him the ideal candidate. His contributions to the organization have been considerable and during his tenure Layne has emerged as an up-and-coming leader in the energy industry. We are very proud that his dedication to his family, community and the employees of Entrust Energy is being recognized.”

In 2016, Entrust Energy earned the distinction as Houston’s fastest growing retail energy provider, according to HBJ’s Fast 100 List, and for two consecutive years, Entrust Energy has been named one of the nation’s fastest growing companies by Inc. Magazine. 

“This recognition belongs equally to the great teams that I have had the good fortune to work with at the various stages of my career. It belongs to the talented group of visionaries who came before me and started Entrust Energy, as well as the many employees of our organization who are passionate about providing exceptional services to our customers and making a difference in their work each and every day,” said Loessin.

Loessin and his wife, Alex, have been married for three years. The couple resides in Hilshire Village and recently welcomed their first son.

Apr 7, 2017

Press Release: Frontier Utilities’ launches online self-service system for business customers – provides price transparency and easy access to savings

Frontier Utilities launches proprietary online instant commercial quote and easy online self-enrollment system for commercial sales.

“Core to our strategy is the development of proprietary software solutions that enable Frontier Utilities to better serve its customers. We are excited to have launched a unique system giving the ability for Texas businesses to directly receive an online commercial price quote and to easily self-enroll, all done seamlessly on our website.” said Suresh Guddanti, V.P. and Chief Information Officer of Frontier Utilities.

Despite the maturity of the commercial market in Texas with a high percentage of businesses having switched electricity suppliers, the availability of self-service pricing and enrollment is almost non-existent. Due to a general lack of transparency, business owners often work with a third party broker, which can add significant cost to the electricity price for their business. Frontier Utilities’ new system brings greater transparency and the opportunity for cost savings to businesses in Texas. The Get-a-Quote system is found at www.frontierutilities.com/Commercial/Get-a-Quote.

“Residential customers have had access to direct online shopping choice for years. We are pleased to bring access to online quotes and self-enrollment to the business markets that we serve. With our new system, energy supply prices are de-mystified, enrollment is made easy and is done directly allowing businesses to avoid costly consulting and brokerage fees embedded in their price.” stated Jay Hellums, Frontier Utilities’ President and Chief Executive Officer. “As with our residential online systems, we expect to see significant growth in commercial sales through this unique new system.”

Jan 8, 2016

Infocast is offering an ERCOT Market Summit 2016 in Austin, Texas on Feb 29-Mar 2.  The topic is:

REGULATORY CHANGES DRIVING MASSIVE RENEWABLE AND TRANSMISSION BUILDS & INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Click here for more

July 6, 2015

New Texas RE Conference Center Available for Workshops and Events
Texas RE is pleased to announce the opening of the new Texas RE Conference Center, a state-of-the-art meeting facility that will allow Texas RE to host on-site events and will be available to energy and other related industry groups to use for non-profit events at no cost.  The space can hold up to 104 attendees in a classroom style setup, or can be broken up into three separate rooms to accommodate smaller events and meetings.  Click here for more….

March 13, 2015

Central Texas Association for Energy Economics (CTAEE) in cooperation with the U.T. Energy Institute, are offering a free half-a-day workshop in the afternoon of April 8, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Blanton Auditorium.  The title of this workshop is:

  EPA’s Proposed Clean Power Plan Rules: Economic Modeling and Effects on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas Region

Five speakers, representing U.T., ERCOT, and several nationally known consulting firms, are included in this workshop and the results of several economic modeling studies with particular focus on Texas will be presented and discussed.  For more information about this workshop, please click here.