Indiana electric company expands into deregulated markets

Chase Energy Corp., based out of Bloomington, Indiana, is looking to grow its employment by 75 workers in the next three years to increase sales in neighboring Illinois, where a thriving deregulated energy market has led to more providers and lower costs.

According to Indiana Public Media, Chase Energy reaches over the border to work with residents and small businesses to offer them discounted electricity rates from providers who purchase the power wholesale. However, the company hopes Indiana will soon introduce energy deregulation laws of its own.

“Customers don’t have the option to shop for lower electric rates, so we only operate in markets where customers have the option to shop for lower electric rates,” Chase Energy Corp President Marc Phelps said.

However, as long as Indiana’s electric market remains regulated, the company says it plans to continued expanding into states with competitive energy environments, including Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.

According to the Illinois Policy Institute, when the state set out to deregulate its energy market, it turned to states like Texas – where deregulation has proven to keep electricity rates down – to develop its own legislature.