Retail Supplier Warns ISO-NE Winter Pricing Will Drag Quarterly Results

"Near-term market conditions in our Northeast markets will likely impact our results in the first quarter," Crius Energy Trust CEO Michael Fallquist said during an earnings call last week.

"In particular, first quarter energy prices in ISO New England ... have reached a near 10-year high as a result of natural gas supply constraints during this period, combined with the region's dependence on natural gas-fired generation," Fallquist said.

"While we plan to pass-along price increases to our customers as market conditions dictate, we are focused on carefully implementing price increases in order to maintain competitiveness and mitigate customer attrition," Fallquist added.

In response to an analyst question, Fallquist said that the negative impact from these market conditions is expected to be less than it was last year, but Crius had no formal guidance. Fallquist said that the impact will be short-term, as the forward curve normalizes in March and is back to normal by April.

Fallquist also said Crius continues to see "significant potential" to grow through acquisitions, given the number of under-capitalized, independent retail suppliers in the market

However, to date, Crius said that it has been more accretive to add customers through its organic sales channels rather than acquisition.