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Sperian Energy Eyes Texas Market, Expanding To Natural Gas, CEO Tells ECM

June 6, 2017

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Copyright 2010-17 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Karen Abbott • kabbott (at) energychoicematters.com

Sperian Energy's geographic expansion over the next six to nine months will include expansion into natural gas, as the company also wants to play a part in the Texas retail electric market, Sperian's newly appointed CEO Paul Keene told EnergyChoiceMatters.com.

As previously reported, Sperian Energy recently named Keene, a retail market veteran who has held leadership roles at several NRG retail companies, to lead growth and expansion efforts in both new and existing markets.

"We want to compete pretty much in any viable, competitive market in the U.S.," Keene said

For natural gas, Keene cited Michigan and Ohio as among the early states the company will move into.

Expanding from its current six-state electricity footprint, Keene said, "on the electric side obviously Texas is a big state that we want to play a part of."

Keene, who also has a background in renewable energy from Green Mountain Energy and NRG and who recently founded Together Solar, a community solar provider focused on urban areas, said Sperian is likely to be active in the solar and distributed energy space as well as part of Sperian's growth.

"What I've seen is an interesting nexus between retail energy and distributed energy, and I think they're starting to intersect in interesting ways. So you're seeing retail energy businesses expand into distributed solar, you're seeing distributed solar businesses, and particularly in the community solar space, that are partnering with retail energy companies, or they're trying to acquire retail energy skill sets, so I think you're starting to see product innovation, whether it's that nexus, and I think you're going to continue to see more of that, and I think Sperian is likely to be active in that space."

Keene also highlighted the currently "crowded" retail market and need for differentiation

"In general when I look at the retail energy markets, I see a competitive playing field that's pretty crowded with a pack of competitors that are, in many ways, undifferentiated, at least in the minds of consumers. So I believe, and I have seen, the power of differentiation, and will be leading Sperian to make sure that we carve out a unique differentiated space in retail energy, and that's both in terms of the products that we offer and also in terms of the brand," Keene said

Keene said that Sperian's focus is organic growth but will keep an eye on M&A.

"I think our focus is organic growth, we will continue to keep our eyes open in the marketplace and look at different M&A opportunities. When I look at M&A activities, last year was a banner year, a record year, we expect this pace to continue, but we're probably more focused right now just on building our own business and making sure that we're developing a differentiated brand and differentiated products," Keene said

To support its "ambitious" growth plans, Sperian recently moved its headquarters from Las Vegas to Houston, to make it easier for Sperian to attract key talent with energy expertise

Sperian currently operates in six states, including Illinois, Maryland, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania

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