CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

A Texas electricity broker is the latest entrant into the increasingly crowded marketplace of firms selling power in New York.

Reliant Energy Inc. of Houston is establishing an office in Albany to sell to large business, institutional and industrial customers.

Reliant provides power to 1.8 million businesses and residences, mostly in Texas. It has an interest in or leases 38 power plants, selling electricity at wholesale to utility companies, municipalities and companies nationwide.

In New York, Reliant is targeting the service areas of Rochester Gas & Electric, National Grid, New York State Electric & Gas and Con Edison, said Jim Ajello, senior vice president of commercial and industrial business development.

According to the state Public Service Commission, 44 electricity providers are operating in New York, and 25 more are eligible but are not currently serving customers. Nine companies are seeking PSC certification, said spokesman James Denn.

The PSC certified Reliant to act as an electricity broker last fall. Reliant then had to be deemed eligible by utility companies.

According to U.S. Energy Department figures, average electricity prices in New York are higher than national averages.

Having another power provider in the Rochester area could help to lower prices, said Lawrence Southwick, associate professor emeritus of managerial economics at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Ajello said Reliant will offer a variety of pricing plans, from short-term variable rates to long-term fixed rates, as well as renewable energy options.

Reliant will not generate any of the power it provides to New York business customers, Ajello said. It will act as a broker, buying cheap power on the wholesale market for customers. It is developing plans to offer power to smaller businesses and is considering the individual consumer market, Ajello said.

Reliant paid a $445 million settlement to consumers and utilities in 2005 to settle claims that it had held back electricity during California's energy crisis of 2000 and 2001, causing outages and skyrocketing prices.

MDANEMAN@DemocratandChronicle.com