Competitive Energy Services

11/27/2025

On this day and every day of the year, Competitive Energy Services is thankful for our friends, clients, staff, and community. Thank you for your continued partnership and support over the years. From our family to yours, we wish you a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday!

https://www.competitive-energy.com/

07/30/2025

Portland Trails connects people with places and that works well for the Competitive Energy Services Team, where each and every day we’re all about keeping our connections strong and one of the ways we do that is through team-building activities and experiences.

Most recently, our Analytics Team (a.k.a. The A-Team) further strengthened their already sturdy team bond by volunteering to help clean and maintain the Evergreen Woods Trails, four miles of beautiful hiking and biking trails located behind Portland’s historic Evergreen Cemetery.

“As avid users of the many outdoor recreation opportunities and trails around Portland, our team’s afternoon of volunteering offered an opportunity to give back in some small way to our community while getting together for a group activity. By giving back in this way, we were able to spend some quality time together as a group and have some fun outside the office as a team in a productive way. The work that Portland Trails does to maintain accessible green space and outdoor recreation opportunities across the urban cityscape of Portland is part of what makes Portland such an amazing city. It was incredibly rewarding to help that work in a small way.” said Simon Pritchard, Managing Director of Analytics.
Afterward, the A-Team rounded out their day of volunteering by cooling down with Bubble Tea at Le’ Cha Café.

https://www.competitive-energy.com/analytics

The CES Analytics’ Team (Left-to-Right): Alexandra Lermond, Conor Larkin, Catherine Nisbet, Lakshya Bharadwaj, Thea Aslanian, Emmett Burns, Ora Rogovin, Will Dickerman, Simon Pritchard, Eliza Pohle, Tarik Cetin.

05/08/2025

In their blog titled “Winter 2024-25 Natural Gas Recap: How Did Prices Compare to the Past Decade?”, Competitive Energy Services’ Keith Sampson, Senior Vice President, Energy Services and Max Webb, Managing Director of Pricing Analytics recap the 2024-25 winter, cover what has (and has not) changed with the northeast natural gas landscape over the last decade and explore how these changes have impacted winter natural gas prices. Keith and Max also outline key findings that can help consumers mitigate the risk of cost spikes in future winters. Read more by clicking the link below and reach out to Keith Sampson or anyone on the CES Energy Services Advisory team if you have questions or wish to discuss this topic and your energy goals and needs in more detail.

https://www.competitive-energy.com/blog/winter-2024-natural-gas-recap-how-did-prices-compare-to-the-past-decade

https://www.competitive-energy.com/energy-services

Photo by: Imaginima

04/16/2025

Save the date for Competitive Energy Services’ free online energy market seminar, titled “Volatility, Geopolitics, and a Changing Regulatory Landscape – Oh My!: The Impact on Business,” which will be held on Wednesday, June 11 from Noon – 1:00 p.m. (including Q&A). If the changing energy regulatory landscape has you dreaming of going to Oz, listen in! CES Energy experts will be on hand that day to cover top-of-mind energy topics. More information and a formal invitation to register for the seminar will follow. Keep an eye out!

https://www.competitive-energy.com/webinars

Photo by: Ginos Photos

03/11/2025

With Daylight Saving Time officially underway and spring on the horizon, Competitive Energy Services would like to remind you that, while we have more sunlight on the brain, now is an excellent time to speak with a CES Energy Services Advisor about your solar projects or any other energy needs or questions you might have. Click the link below and reach out to one of our ESAs today. While on our website, subscribe to receive our weekly Market Summary and monthly Insider Newsletter.

https://www.competitive-energy.com/energy-services

02/12/2025

Congratulations to Matthew Gamache, Competitive Energy Services’ Chief Operating Officer, who was recently elected for a three-year term to the Board of Directors of the Environmental & Energy Technology Council of Maine (E2Tech), along with four other Portland area professionals.

A graduate of Bowdoin College’s Government and Environmental Studies program and Vermont Law School’s Masters of Energy Regulation and Law, Matt joined CES a decade ago and has experience in distributed generation and net metering projects, power purchase agreements, renewable energy procurement strategies, utility tariff design, energy budgeting, and price forecasting. He also serves on the Yarmouth Climate Action Board.
"I have been attending E2Tech events since I started working for CES in Maine's energy industry over 10 years ago. Through E2Tech I've made meaningful connections and gained broad exposure to the great work being done throughout Maine's environmental, energy, and technology sectors. I am proud to serve on the Board and contribute towards fostering the same opportunities for my CES colleagues, industry peers, our clients, and the wider E2Tech community," said Matt Gamache.

https://www.competitive-energy.com/executive-management

https://www.competitive-energy.com/news/matt-gamache-coo-of-ces-elected-to-e2tech-board

Photo by Nina Callanan

Matt Gamache, Competitive Energy Services, E2Tech Board of Directors, Environmental & Energy Technology Council of Maine

01/23/2025

It might be the heart of winter, but Emmett Burns, Associate Manager of Analytics, Competitive Energy Services has is mind on summer and some notable changes in store for Maine’s medium and large electricity customers. In his recent blog titled “Changing the Peak Window to Benefit the Grid of the Future,” which appeared in CES’ January CES Insider newsletter, Emmett discusses utility rate changes in Maine and the impact of changing the peak window. Read more by clicking the link below.

https://www.competitive-energy.com/blog/changing-the-peak-window-to-benefit-the-grid-of-the-future

Photo by: Panuwat Dangsungnoe

Utility Rate Changes, Maine Public Utilities Commission, Central Maine Power, Competitive Energy Services, Emmett Burns, peak window

01/15/2025

As we start the new year, the January issue of our CES Insider features a blog titled “Competitive Energy Services: Celebrating 25 Years…and Beyond,” written by our President & CEO, Andy Price. In this article, Andy reflects on Competitive Energy Services’ 25 years of helping clients meet their energy needs through steadfast reliance on our three pillars: independence, market expertise, and our focus on being a long-term trusted partner to our clients. In addition to reflecting on the past, Andy looks forward to 2025 and beyond and the opportunities for us to think boldly and creatively as we continue to help add value on behalf of our clients. Read more by clicking the link below.

https://www.competitive-energy.com/blog/competitive-energy-services-celebrating-25-years-and-beyond

Photo by: Mirzamlk

Competitive Energy Services, CES, Celebrating 25 Years, Three Pillars, Richard Silkman, Andrew Price, Matt Gamache, Eben Perkins

12/19/2024

While on vacation over Thanksgiving weekend, Competitive Energy Services’ Will Dickerman, Energy Analyst, and his family visited and toured the Hoover Dam, operated by the United States Bureau of Reclamation. The hydroelectric arch-gravity dam straddles the Colorado River in the Black Canyon of the Colorado, between the Nevada and Arizona border. Constructed between 1931 and 1935, Hoover Dam stands 726 feet tall, the approximate height of a sixty-story building. The dam contains enough concrete to build a four-foot-wide sidewalk around the equator. It weighs as much as 18 Empire State Buildings. Seventeen main turbines provide a nameplate generating capacity of 2,080 megawatts (MW).

Before Hoover Dam was constructed, the flow of the Colorado River was unpredictable, with frequent periods of drought and devasting floods that would wreak havoc on the flatter topography downstream. Constructing a dam here meant diverting the flow of the Colorado by constructing four 56-foot diameter diversion tunnels. Because the concrete would take more than 125 years to cool and set on its own, engineers devised a system where construction crews would pour blocks and cool the concrete using chilled water from a refrigeration plant. After four years of around-the-clock work, President Franklin Roosevelt dedicated Hoover Dam in 1935.

“As an energy professional and college history major, visiting the Hoover Dam combined two passions. Seeing the colossal scale of the dam, penstocks, and spillways left me in awe. Learning about the dam’s history gave me a greater appreciation for the Hoover Dam as a 1930s engineering marvel and the role of water in shaping the modern American West.”

https://www.competitive-energy.com/

https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/

Photo by: Will Dickerman

12/18/2024

When 2024 began, we had our eyes focused on our client’s energy needs and initiatives, the commodities markets (per usual), and, as always, on the broader industry and universal trends that were going to make an impact throughout the year. As 2024 unfolded, Competitive Energy Services energy experts shared their insights on net metering for New England businesses, the SEC climate rules and requirements, formulating strategic procurement plans, fuel security in New England and other regions, clean heat standards, liquid biofuels, renewable fuels, trends in regional peak electricity demand and the CES Self-Help program, and more. In case you missed these informative articles, they are highlighted at a quick glance in our year-end look-back article titled: CES Insights: A Look Back on 2024.

https://www.competitive-energy.com/blog/ces-insights-a-look-back-on-2024

Photo by: Murat Deniz

Competitive Energy Services, Net metering for New England businesses, the SEC climate rules and requirements, formulating strategic procurement plans, fuel security in New England and other regions, clean heat standards, liquid biofuels, renewable fuels, trends in regional peak electricity demand, C...