Vistra-Owned Electricity Shopping Service (Broker) Seeks To Serve Residential Customers In Another New State

Blitz Ventures, Inc. d/b/a EnergyBot, the retail electricity plan comparison website owned by Vistra, filed for an amendment to its Maryland electric and natural gas broker licenses to serve residential customers in all service areas

EnergyBot is currently authorized to serve non-residential customers in Maryland.

EnergyBot currently offers residential service in Texas and recently launched residential service in certain other Northeast states such as Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio, as exclusively first reported by EnergyChoiceMatters.com earlier this year

Blitz Ventures, Inc. (BVI) said in its Maryland filing that, "BVI's sales model is a passive one where customers come to BVI's site, usually through discovery via an internet search. As a result, BVI does not approach customers and does no door-to-door in person marketing, or calling of prospective customers, and the decision to come to the site it up to customers, the risk of any consumer protection violation is incredibly small. Any marketing materials provided to the customers come from the individual electric suppliers, separately regulated by the Commission, who contract with BVI to list their retail products and services on BVI's site. To that point, BVI believes its no-pressure, opt-in internet-driven customer informational and enrollment process with the supplier and product of the customer's choosing is superior to in-person door-to-door sales efforts. Along those lines, BVI also believes that the Commission allowing BVI to add residential to its existing applications and electric and natural gas licenses will be in the public interest as a valuable method for residential consumers to get information from suppliers, and about multiple different supplier service offerings in one on-line location, to make their own choice, in their own time, free from an in person or phone sales discussion."

Vistra also owns various retail energy suppliers such as TXU and Dynegy