The price of electricity is soaring in Texas. When dramatic change happens so quickly, it’s helpful to know if it was expected or came as a surprise. At Ambit we anticipated it. I made the following comments on March 15, 2008, in Houston at our Ambit Power Conference in an effort to explain what was happening in the electricity markets.
“Everyone here knows that there are a lot of economic storm clouds overhead and darker skies off in the distance. Gasoline prices are at all-time highs. Oil rose past $111 a barrel this week, up almost 85% in one year. Natural gas prices are up 35% in the last 40 days.
The good news is that your Ambit business is as recession-proof as any job or business can be. No matter what might happen, people will still consume electricity and natural gas. No matter what might happen, people will still want to save money. No matter what might happen, people will still be looking for new opportunities to make money.
You are in a position to help more people than possibly ever before in your life. You are in a position to grow your business faster than ever before. It’s all up to you. What you put in is what you will get out. Just remember, we will always be here to support you.
The difficult news, however, is that the cost of the product we sell, electricity, is tied to the price of natural gas. Since early February the price of natural gas has risen almost every single day. Just as the price of oil drives the cost of gasoline, the price of natural gas drives the cost of electricity. The shock wave from this rise in natural gas prices has already hit the cost of electricity. And the after-shock from these higher electricity costs is getting ready to hit retail electricity prices. If the cost of electricity goes up, the retail price for electricity must rise as well. Don’t let this worry you. Everyone will be raising their rates.
Ambit is fortunate to have a great relationship with Shell Energy. We are well positioned to navigate the coming storm. Consequently, you will be well positioned, too. Here is our Texas strategy: When raising rates, we will be a slow follower. We’ll let others raise their rates first. When lowering rates, we will be a quick leader. We intend to always price well beneath the incumbent and within the bottom half of all of our competitors.
There are prices being offered by some competitors that make absolutely no sense given the cost of electricity. Either those prices will go away or those competitors will go away. And it will probably be a little of both.
Ambit will always be making prudent decisions that are in the long-term best interests of everyone here. We will not take wild risks that might jeopardize your businesses.
To recap what I have said: Natural gas prices drive the cost of electricity. Natural gas prices and the cost of electricity have risen dramatically in the past two months. The prices charged for electricity will be raised by everyone in the marketplace. Our strategy is to be a slow follower when raising rates, and to be a quick leader when lowering rates. We will not take market risks that might jeopardize your business.
There really is a silver lining in this storm. More people than ever before will be looking for better value.”
Since my comments last March, natural gas prices have continued to soar along with the price of oil and gasoline. The cost of electricity has risen in lockstep. Our predictions that unrealistically low rates would disappear as would some electricity providers have come true. The strategy that we stated then is the same strategy we are using today.
To help you during this period, we have introduced promotional pricing that is very aggressive, and in some cases has been the lowest acquisition rate available in the marketplace, as much as ten cents per kilowatt below some competitors. These promotional plans are designed to help you gather customers. These plans are for new customers only, and the promotional rate applies through your new customer’s first full bill cycle after which the rate will be adjusted to a more competitive market rate – a rate still priced well below your customer’s local incumbent provider and in the bottom half of our competitors.
We know that these are unusual times. More people are looking for better value than ever before. While many of our competitors are struggling, Ambit is enjoying record sales volumes because many of you have embraced the opportunity and are using it to accelerate the growth of your business. Others aren’t exactly sure how to react and seem to have forgotten that even though our rates have gone up, they are still some of the very lowest in the marketplace.
The best time to go fishing is when the fish are biting. Now is that time.