Electricity Regulators Want Answers From Resident Power And Power New England

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Credit Duke Energy / Flickr Creative Commons

Over 7,000 "meters" that were being served by PNE have been transferred to PSNH, and another 1,200 to Fairpoint Energy, after PNE was suspended from the electricity market

The Public Utilities Commission is asking an electricity supplier that was suspended from selling power in the New England grid to explain why it shouldn’t be subject to penalties in New Hampshire.

The PUC wants Power New England and Resident Power to account for a number of possible violations.

Resident Power is an aggregator that gathers up electricity customers and delivers them to a supplier. Power New England actually supplies electricity. Gus Fromuth is part owner of Power New England, and his son Bart is Managing Director of Resident Power. 

The PUC wants to know why the companies didn’t give their customers 30 days’ notice that it would be ceasing operations, and why they failed to disclose their affiliation.

This comes on the heels of the regional grid operator ISO New England suspending Power New England from the regional market for failing to pay its bills. The company was buying energy for some of its customers on the daily markets, which exposed it to a spike in electricity costs during the cold months.