Multi level marketing companies are unique in that they appeal to people on several different fronts. For women Mary Kay, Avon, and Pampered Chef are some of the companies most people have at one time or another heard of. These companies don’t just appeal to people because of the money making opportunity but attract many people because of the networking and social rewards it brings through a close tight knit group of friends working together. I must admit I enjoy working with my friends when everyone is on the same page. Since these companies have a set forumula, presentation plan, commission structure and so on it makes it very easy to keep everyone working in harmony and on the same page.

Once you start talking about MLM opportunities outside of a network of women it isn’t exactly the same. Women will usually work an MLM work from home opportunity much longer without receiving a lot of income far longer then a man will in general stereotipical terms. Because of this Avon, Mary Kay and Pampered Chef continue to do very well. You may have also heard of Herbalife which has also done very well and has a larger majority of women sales recruits then of men. In Texas electric companies are the new business to turn into an MLM opportunity. You first had Ignite Energy which started up back in 2003 a little after Texas deregulated. They brought in a large majority of people that just left the bankrupt telecom MLM company Excel Telecommunications. Ignite as of today claims to have about 400,000 electric customers. Most of these customers are sales recruits and their families and friends. This number may be exagerated as we received this information from a very excited Ignite sales recruit but thats all I have to go on. Ambit Energy was soon after started from sales recruits who left Ignite and started up a similar MLM company. Ambit seems to have a bit more buzz although not as many customers and sales recruits as Ignite Energy. It would not be terribly surprising to watch Ignite wind down in the next year or two with Ambit taking over thsome of their market share. Looking back at those female MLM opportunities, (not to say men are not in them also) it is important to point out that there are quite a few male recruits in the Ambit and Ignite Energy MLM opportunities. When cold hard truth hits them and they see no money coming in they tend to leave the opportunity much quicker then females who stick around to be a part of the excitement, social and networking rewards regardless of how much money they make. Lets face it, Ambit and Ignite is not make up sales so you just don’t get as many women recruits and the men leave when they don’t see the money, “Show me the money!”

A new electric company competing with Ambit Energy that is just about to launch starting May 31st 2008 is called Affordable Energy. This company is similar to Ambit and Ignite with a little tweak on some important compensation plan issues. Instead of making a quarter a month per personally sponsored energy customers you can make around $4 - $6 a month residually per customer. This traditional industry standard pay structure keeps customer retention and sign ups high and gives the MLM business a bit of a traditional sales personality. In fact, it would be easy for a marketer to make a good income just selling the service for personal customer sign ups while paying no attention to the additional MLM pay plan and sales recruit structure (although it is just as good if not better then Ignite or Ambit). Affordable Energy is only in Texas and New York for selling electric service while Ambit Electric is in 3 states (Texas, New York and Illinois). Affordable has the exclusive rights to sell and energy efficiency product to residential homes in all 50 states and this strategically allows them to build a sales force in those states while awaiting approval to also sale electricity. The commission structure on personal retail product sales is around $65 a pop if my sources are right which means through electric service and the energy efficiency product, PermaFrost a sales associate could make a lot of upfront money and residual income not to mention residual downline income.

Since the company is re-launching May 31st people getting in early to the Affordable Energy opportunity stad to make the most money when the momentum takes off and you were one of the founding partners that helped kick start the company. Ambit Energy was able to duplicate what Ignite did so why not Affordable Energy? Sign up today!

Disclaimer

If I have offended any feminists regarding my sterotypical comments I am very sorry. I love women and mean no disrespect but you have to admit women do like MLM opportunities. Just go to a Pampered Chef party and look how happy everyone is. A lot of times they aren’t even talking about the opportunity but are just have a conversation about everything but that. Men and women are just different and it’s interesting to see how this shows in an MLM business.

Recently National Power Company out of Houston Texas sent out a notice to possibly all of their electric customers who signed an electric contract during a monthly term that was contrary to corresponding natural gas futures prices NPC gambles against in order to make potentially more profit. This notice is mandatory to be sent out if a Texas electric company decides to raise Texas power rates on their customers. So the PUCT sent out the mandatory letter letting most of Nation Power customers know their rate of 11- 12 cents kWh will be raised to 15 cents kWh. This may sound normal for those that sign up on those variable electric rate plans that fluctuate up and down with the market but these National Power customers signed a fixed electric agreement, some for 12 months and longer. This notice of change in price all happened around the middle of May 2008 and we quickly saw a few thousand National Power customers hit a few consumer sites to post their experience on the phone with both NPC and the PUCT (Public Utility Commission of Texas) regarding this bait and switch on their National Power electric price.

Consumer Fight Back Against NPC and Broken Contract

Beyond just the PUCT and calling National Power many NPC customers posted negative comments on consumer blogs, news sites and were even calling a host of news organizations. The problem fueled an increasing fight over the next few days from May 9 - May 15 2008 against National Power with some customers calling for a boycott of NPC. A handful of electric providers do this practice of locking people into a fixed contract, not hedging the energy they sold, and then when fuel prices skyrocket, passing this cost on to the customer by breaking the contract and raising the customers electric rate. Some electric companies who first started this practice are Tara Energy, TriEagle, and Cirro Energy. Tara Energy is the first electric company in Texas we know of that some would say wrote the book on breaking customers fixed electric rate contracts based on multiple customers of theirs who had their commercial fixed energy agreement prices raised on them in the middle of their term commitment. The PUCT investigated Tara Energy and sided with Tara over their customers back in 2002. Tara is still under litigation by the Greater Houston Retailer Association, Inc. and as far as we know the verdict is still out (Cause no 2006-45366, 157th Judicial Court of Harris County, Texas). Tara also was in litigation with Gordon Swanson Properties Case 34635-1 as well as multiple other cases (33936, 33937, 34648, and 35049. You can read the complaint by Gordon Swanson Properties here: Tara Energy Complaint You can read Tara Energy’s old Terms of Service here: Tara Energy Terms of Service Most of these complaints against Tara Energy were mysteriously dismissed after a lengthy bit of litigation at the Public Utility Commission of Texas to allow for resources and time to go towards settlement arrangements. Tara Energy’s lawyers seems to have put up quite a fight with those who have complained against them for raising their fixed electric rate agreement. A look at a few of the lawsuits shows that they usually go on for 6 months to a year and then a settlement is made with the Tara Energy customer and Tara Energy. The dismissals do not show what the settlement arrangements were between Tara and their customers but you can probably imagine.

Note to Tara Energy and to Texas Electric Customers

If Tara Energy has information to clear up anything that we may have written incorrectly please feel free to enlighten us to what we have mistated, misquoted. You can leave a comment below and we would be glad to correct any mistakes. One reason we have determined for the hardship with fighting a broken fixed commercial energy agreement in Texas is the fact that consumer protection laws are created primarily for residential customers (The little guy). When it comes to a Texas commercial energy contract you are pretty much in a buyer beware market. If fixed electric rates can be changed and broken at will it really hurts the whole commercial energy industry. Not all electric providers raise their fixed energy prices when they promise you a rate. Usually a fixed electric rate is fixed and will not change. A law that has been used succesfully to fight back when an electric company breaks a fixed electric agreement is the “Deceptive Trade Practices Act”. The Attorney General of Texas would love to hear about any bait and switch energy agreements you may have been lured into. If you were with an electric company that broke your fixed electric rate you signed and agreed to you can file a complaint online with the Attorney General of Texas here: Complaint Form

If you have signed a contract with Tara Energy, or any of the other electric providers we have mentioned we do not recommend that you cancel your contract. You will need to make your complaints to the proper authorities if you feel you have been wronged but please do not break your energy agreement. We do not condone, request, or encourage you to break an energy agreement.

Potential Trend in Broken Fixed Electric Agreements

Some new companies as of 2008 that have broken their customer energy agreements or indicate they might have been with National Power Company, Riverway Power, and some are now saying that YEP (Your Energy Provider) has a clause in their contract allowing for them to raise their fixed rate as well. The PUCT requires that any energy provider that raises their fixed electric rate send a 45 day notice to their customers of the change in the rate. This gives the customer the time to investigate the matter and for the PUCT to make sure the rate change is allowed. Because of the recent uproar to the PUCT by NC consumers, National Power Company, Federal Trade Commission, Attorney General of Texas (Gregg Abbot) and a few other consumer organizations consumers have won with National Power Company. NPC decided to rescend their Texas electric rate change and honor their electric customers fixed rate contract. At this point we don’t know if this was the decision of NPC or of the PUCT requiring NPC to honor the rate but we assume they will be eating any potential profits for some time now. The state of Texas Power To Choose website has removed both Riverway Power and National Power Company from their comparison site. There is no indication as when they will include these providers energy rates back on the site.

Internet Used as a Consumer Forum to Engage Fraudalent Companies

The web is increasingly being used as a tool for consumers to fight back against unfair trade practices and it appears to have worked this time with National Power. Texas consumers are facing higher and higher electric rates because of higher fuel costs. If a Texas electric customer wants to insure they have an affordable energy fixed rate that will not change it is important to know whether or not the electric company selling you an electric rate is hedging their energy so that if their are fuel increases they have already insured that their profit margin, costs, and risk are not hindered and that the consumer does not end up footing the bill. Fixed electric contracts are more expensive because the electric provider has to put up additional capital to hedge the energy they sell but it also provides insurance and peace of mind that your electric rate will remain the same for the entire length of the contract. One company in particular that maintains a competitive and affordable energy rate while offering accurate billing, good customer service, and a reputable track record is a Texas electric provider by the name of Champion Energy. Champion Energy is our suggestion for a quality energy company in Texas that does not jack around with hidden fees, false promises, or insufficient capital to properly hedge their energy.

Illinois has finally paved the way and opened up commercial and residential electric consumers to pick an energy provider other then just the monopoly in their area. Just like Texas deregulated their electric market back in 2002 and caused a fuss with TXU and Centerpoint Energy we now see the same thing happening in Illinois. There are only a handful of electric companies offering a choice with residential electricity but there are quite a few more commercial electric suppliers in Illinois.

If you are new to the whole deregulation idea it can be a little confusing to start out with. Basically you are still receiving your energy from the same pole and wires company but you can buy it from someone else. A competitive energy provider in Illinois is basically an energy trading company sitting behind a desk making a financial transaction and trying to buy and sell that energy to you cheaper then your previous provider.

The energy company that generates the power and the company that delivers the energy to your home and business are not the competitive electric supplier you have a choice with. You cannot pick who generates your electricity or pick a different pole and wires company. There will always just be one pole and wire running to your home or commercial business but there will be multiple retail electric companies who buy commodities, hedge the energy and sell you a fixed rate energy contract.

Some confusion has been created in Illinois because of a company by the name of Ambit Energy coming into the state a little early and started signing up multi level marketing recruits to sell electricity before the market was open for business. Many people signed up but were unable to sell the electricity because Ambit Energy was never approved to sell energy in the state and the market in Illinois was not open for business yet.

Many people still don’t understand what is going on and many of the sales reps recruited by Ambit Energy wonder why they ever joined an energy company that cannot even sell the electricity in their state. Ambit expects to go back through the approval process again and potentially become approved but it is too late to tell this early on in the process. Ignite Energy is another energy provider selling using MLM techniques and they too are attempting to get into the Illinois market.

Another energy company in Illinois that is not yet approved to sell electricity there yet which sales using an MLM recruiting sales force is a company called Affordable Energy. This electric provider has ambitions to enter all 50 states selling either electricity or energy efficiency products. Affordable Energy has a clever idea in that by getting into a state by first selling an energy efficiency product will create a sizable sales force for later using to sell electricity. This energy supplier is still waiting to be approved to sell in New York and currently only offers electricity in Texas.

Ignite Started Early But Ambit Went To School On Their Success

Ignite Energy started the famous Multi-Level Marketing energy company in Texas after Excel went bankrupt. The Ignite Energy company took on several Excel executives and sales MLM sales reps to help start their new electricity MLM company in Texas. The deregulation of Texas electricity allowed Excel people to go straight off of the declining competitive telecommunications utility over to energy utilities. The change was not that different in regards to the ease of selling the service and billing customers. The service is something that everyone needs and uses and the billing systems are very similar. The sales pitch among Excel representatives was that you can get paid everytime someone picks up the phone. Now the pitch with Ignite Energy is, “Get paid everytime someone turns on the lights!”

Opening Up For Business In The Crystal Palace, the Dallas Infomart

Ignite Energy took a fast start after opening up for business out of the Dallas Infomart. The Infomart location has a weekly business sales rally up on the top floor for Ignite sales reps needing an emotional boost to get them back out there recruiting. Some of the top sales people in the organization come to the rallies to give a motivational pitch to their downline sales team so that the company continues to grow and add sales recruits. Keeping the buzz and excitement of Ignite Energy in the community is important so that it becomes easier to sell when recruiting new people into the business. As the buzz really got going with Ignite, Ambit Energy started up and took much of the hype and buzz created by Ignite Energy and brought many people over to their sales team by offering a little better compensation plan and electric rates. This started quite a stir among the two companies and their loyal MLM sales representatives. Ignite Energy remains a solid electric company with a respectable amount of revenue coming in but with most MLM companies their is the danger of a high percentage of lost customers, leaving Ignite Energy to shop for better electric rates elsewhere.

Ambit Taking Over

Ambit Energy now has taken the place of Ignite Energy as being ahead of the game in regards to the size of their electric company and the amount of customers, and new recruits they have. The Ambit Energy company has also borrowed several executives from the now bankrupt Excel and has brought over several Ignite Energy sales reps to now sale for Ambit. Ignite Energy appears to be on the way out while Ambit Energy has taken over the talk and hype among MLM enthusiasts looking for the next best opportunity.

Smaller MLM’s Hit The Seen

Some smaller MLM companies following after the industry leaders like Ambit and Ignite are “Lite Up Texas”, Cirro Energy, Affordable Energy, Texpo, and maybe more that we just don’t know about. It looks like there is quite a bit of competition in Texas’ deregulated electricity market not only with energy but in the marketing mechanism used to sale the energy.

After browsing through multiple electric company pages today I ran across Ambit Energy’s page again. I had seen it before because there appears to be quite a few Ambit Energy sales associates advertising their energy products on just about any advertising medium available across the internet. Not to be rude, but many of the people making claims regarding Ambit are using hype type language that makes someone like me want to vomit. Have you ever had one of those telemarketers call you or gotten email promising they can make you a millionaire somehow with just a few hours of time a day?

I am old enough to have been given different scam opportunities over my lifetime and fortunately I haven’t fallen for any of them yet. Ambit Energy is an electric provider that offers low cost electric service to residential customers across the state of Texas. I checked into it and they have a month to month rate that starts at 9.9 cents kWh and what it does after the first month is not fully disclosed anywhere that I could find on their site. In comparison to this I found another electric provider called Startex Power that had a month to month electric rate like Ambit’s for 9.3 cents kWh. Of course with either of these electric rates it will go up on the 2nd 3rd 4th month on and on. From what I hear the average electric rate after the 1st month promo rate is some where in the vacinity of 12 - 13 cents a kWh. That is ok I guess since you are not on a contract and can switch without penalty at anytime but I wanted to know what the rate does after the first month. Startex Power discloses what the electric rate does the last 2 historical months. I looked on Startex Power’s site and unlike Ambit Energy they had the last 2 months of what the electric rate looked like for their month to month rate. It was  12.3 in February and 12.9 in March which corresponds with what the electric market has been doing over the last few months. The electric commodities market is at an all time high right now.

Affordable Energy located in Houston Texas is a new up and coming MLM Texas electric provider and does in fact provide affordable energy for both homes and commercial businesses. The energy company was started as its MLM division not but about a year ago although it has been a licensed retail electric provider for much longer.

The mlm company concept is nothing new as we have seen Ignite Energy, Ambit Energy, and now Affordable Energy start up business here in Texas because of the state deregulating the electricity market here. The difference between Affordable Energy and the other companies are significant. Affordable Energy not only sells home energy like the others but they sell commercial electricity which Ambit and Ignite do not do.Affordable Energy also happens to be a brand new start up and with any brand new MLM start up the ones who get in at the beginning stand to make the most money. You have probably heard about those millionaire fortunes that MLM company’s can produce and have maybe even rolled your eyes. I have done the same thing but when you get into a successful multi-level marketing company early on and really work it you do have a good chance of making several million dollars. The buzz a new opportunity creates causes a stir among opportunists who find the closest sales representative in that company and they join in their organization hoping to get in early enough and to have the support of a founding partner. The new Affordable Energy rep should then spend as much free time as possible to create that same buzz and they could easily find themselves having their door pounded down with people looking to sign up underneath them.

With a business name like Affordable Energy they have a lot of pressure to provide an affordable energy solution to the customers they sign up. It would be very funny if they were to begin charging very high electric rates with that brand name. This brand name in a way helps to insure they keep their rates low otherwise the irony in the name and the price could implode on itself and then hit the news and press and begin to create a bad buzz about the company.

  This topic has various opinions.  Some think it creates competition and others think it makes the price even worse then when it is regulated by the government.  When Texas deregulated the electric market in 2002 the rates immediately began to rise.  Why is this?  I believe the 50 retail providers that started up in the wake of competition simply made there price right below the inflated price to beat.  They weren’t really pricing based on the market but instead pricing below an already inflated price to beat rate.  Natural gas prices steadily rose as well during this period since 2002 and as they rose so did the rates.

  Come January 1st 2006 the price to beat will be done away with and it will be all out competition among the 50 retail providers currently serving the Texas market.  I believe TXU, First Choice, Reliant, Direct Energy, and the rest of the incumbants will start to undercut the competition and price very low.  When this happens you will see the rate ssteadily come down.  Many of the retail providers in the market will be priced out of business as they will not be able to compete.  Many of the retail providers have very sloppy business practices and when the larger companies price lower then they are used to they will be forced out.  This low pricing will not last very long and what you will see is a rate based primarily on what the market is doing.  If natural gas prices go down you will see a very good rate.  If they go up and the heat factor remains steady you will see rates go up.

  Texas will do ok when the price to beat is no longer and the Retail Providers who stick around formulate themselves into a competitive force.  Until this time which will take about 2 years you will see some interesting phenomenons with the electricity rates in Texas.  Just be sure to lock in while it is low.  It should be all over the board.

   Electricity is the sun and we pay dearly for it.  It is convenient and the world is built on it and lives by it.  We do what we do today mainly because of electricity.  The world evolved into a supplicating without thought quibbling fool for energy. 

   Things have come along way.  We now have a world that has seen the face of competition in this regulated industry but a small shaving off the retail price hasn’t flattered anybody.  Company electric service customers want more from competition.  Software analysis, aggregation, peak demand, load factor considerations, infrastructure changes and a host of other options can assist where the electric company has no incentive to notify the business about.

   Energy software abounds in the realm of risk factor assessments, energy portfolio management and energy block buying.  The standard product offering by electricity providers is a fixed rate product for your load factor.  This is just option pricing but it appears to be tailored to your company but it isn’t as tailored as you might be led to believe.

   With the correct software, energy manager, or energy consultant you can buy the right amount of electricity you need on the commodities market in standard blocks.  For some companies this seems like something too far away from their needs but it’s much simpler then it may look at first glance.  For instance Texas has ERCOT which oversees the Deregulated industry.  If for any reason something goes wrong in the system you still receive your power.  This is a safe guard so Texas companies can feel safe while they look for competitive electricity rates.  A simple call to an energy broker or aggregator is all a company needs to participate in buying commodity priced electricity without the large retail margin.  Many supposed energy brokers and aggregators are nothing more then fly by night Enron salesmen, so buyer beware.  You want to look at their website and see exactly how they do business.  They should be licensed by the state to aggregate companies together.  They should also have the tools to buy commodity energy blocks that can be used on a 24 x 7 time frame.  Risk management is the key to a good energy broker and aggregator.  These energy consultants can add hundred’s of thousand’s and occasionally millions to your bottom line. 

•  In Summary: Call an energy broker after reviewing their site.
• Find out if they can buy the energy in commodity blocks.
• Ask them if they have a pool of providers to buy from.
• See their risk management strategy and its track record.
• Be involved in the process.
• Finally Ask for references.

When pricing comes in providers and aggregators face the challenge of sending it fast and accurately.  Having the right software can insure you get this information to all your customers fast and effectively.  For customers, dealing with a company who uses the latest software means they can provide to you the most updated prices available in the market with the smallest retail margins.

Pricing can actually get pretty complex but the more complex it is the greater the companies rate goes down.   A tailor made price has so many factors taken into consideration the aggregator or provider is able to err on the side of a cheap rate.

The right software allows a company to respond immediately to a customers request for a tailor made price for their company.  Key reports, forecasted usage, supply, demand, flexible products, including fixed price, index price, collars, time-of-use, swing, spark spreads, and other market considerations are available for educating the customer.

Some of the largest gas and electric companies make use of this type of software and it is only reasonable that an aggregator, provider and customer make use of a money saving tool like this.

At this time we have two links to provide and recommend for this type of application although more will be added.
Pricing Expert by Lodestar
LoadVision by Nexus