"Essentially, we're losing money on every kilowatt we sell," according to Michael Drago, vice president for the company's New Jersey operations. Power Direct is a subsidiary of AES Corp., one of the country's largest utility companies. "We are very disappointed that we haven't been able to keep it going here," he adds, citing the soaring price of energy supplies, especially natural gas, as the cause. Drago notes that the company will keep its license to sell power here in case things change.
Besides nearly 16,000 residential customers, AES Power Direct has been serving small commercial customers across the state. Most of those customers have been buying power cooperatively through several business organizations. The buying pool of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association has been tapped by over 1,200 of its members, for example, and some 450 members of the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers have been buying their power through that organization.
Customers of AES Direct's sister company, AES New Energy, aren't affected by the move. Most of New Energy's customers are large commercial and industrial concerns.
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