Moving Our Strategy Forward
Deregulation in the customer market segment is still a new game – a game in which KeySpan has clear and compelling strengths. Our core competencies in managing energy delivery systems, marketing and selling natural gas, growing electric generating assets, and operating and responding to customers in dense urban and suburban environments, give us an edge over the competition in our target market, which is the Northeast. This region, which extends from Washington, D.C. to Maine and west to Illinois, represents 43 percent of the country’s population, 36 percent of the country’s gas consumption and 40 percent of the country’s electricity consumption. It presents, without question, an excellent opportunity for growth.
KeySpan is uniquely positioned within that region to take advantage of this exceptional growth potential. The Northeast, particularly the region’s urban centers, is a difficult, demanding market from which many energy companies shy away. For KeySpan, it’s home. We understand the customers and what they expect from their energy company – and we deliver it. That’s why, for two years running, KeySpan’s regulated gas company, The Brooklyn Union Gas Company, has won the customer loyalty award in a nationwide brand survey.
Our expertise in marketing, coupled with the increasing demand for natural gas as the preferred fuel of choice, will allow us to greatly expand gas sales on Long Island and in the soon-to-be acquired New England territory. With gas heat penetration in these markets at only 28 and 40 percent respectively, the opportunity for significantly increased revenue is real. In fact, we have already increased gas sales by 4 |
percent on Long Island in the last year. Growing demand for electricity in this region will offer us the opportunity to expand our electric generating business as well, increasing electric sales revenue. So our core assets provide a solid foundation for our growth strategy.
But what truly sets KeySpan apart from other energy companies in the Northeast is our customer base and understanding our customers’ needs. While other utilities pursued deregulation by acquiring each other’s divested bricks and mortar, KeySpan was more focused on meeting customer needs. The Eastern Enterprises acquisition is really about growing our customer base. When the acquisition is completed, we will serve more than 2.4 million gas customers in New York, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. We also provide service to 1.1 million Long Island Power Authority electric customers on Long Island.
Our equity with this large group of customers and our access to them gives us a ready market for an expanding array of energy products and services for homes and businesses. It gives us something that no other energy company has – the ability to deliver on the growth promise.
Doing More With More
Our strategy for growth is straightforward – focus on the customer using the assets we own to provide them with an expanding array of products and services. We currently have three initiatives underway that underscore the potential for using new technology to serve our customers in a more comprehensive way.
The first is an agreement with General Electric that provides us with the exclusive testing and marketing rights for “Plug Power" fuel cell |
