Feature Articles

With the Energy Marketing Conference bringing retail energy leaders together in Washington, DC, this week, October 19–20, I want to celebrate the entrepreneurial teams that make our industry so exciting. EMC has done a terrific job bringing people together to exchange ideas, build relationships and learn from one another. This year, the Texas market gives us something especially encouraging to talk about.

The recent EIA release of 2025 electricity data gave me an opportunity to examine which Texas residential suppliers gained the most customer market share versus 2024. Four privately held suppliers stand out among the top 10: Atlantic Energy, AP Holdings, Capital Energy and Ironhorse Power Services.

Atlantic Energy deserves special recognition. A relatively new presence in the Texas residential market, Atlantic increased its reported customer count from 774 to 58,376, adding 57,602 customers. Its market share rose from about 0.01% to 0.83%, a gain of 0.82 percentage points. Atlantic leads the top 10 in both customers added and percentage-point share gain. That is an impressive showing for a newer competitor.

In second place for share gain is AP Holdings, whose APG&E brand has been in the market for years. Its reported customer count more than doubled, rising from 48,235 to 99,078, an increase of 50,843 customers, or 105%. Its share climbed from about 0.69% to 1.40%, a gain of 0.71 percentage points. I find that just as encouraging: an established competitor delivering substantial customer growth and fresh momentum in 2025.

With Capital Energy in fourth place, three of the top four share gainers are among the private firms identified in our analysis. All four private suppliers, including Ironhorse, ended 2025 with less than 1.5% of the customer market. They are showing that relatively small firms can make meaningful gains alongside some very large brands.

That is why I focus on market share. Adding customers is worth celebrating. Gaining share means a company is growing its customer base faster than the market overall. It is a straightforward way to see how suppliers are doing relative to their competitors.

Across all 10 winners, reported residential customer counts increased by 289,162. Their combined share rose from 17.67% to 21.55%, a gain of 3.87 percentage points, while the overall customer market grew just 1.30%.

Top 10 Texas residential customer market share gainers, 2025 versus 2024, ranked by percentage-point increase. Source: EIA Form 861; Heights Group Consulting analysis. Customer gains include account transfers.

For me, the encouraging message is that entrepreneurial enterprise still has room to flourish. Large companies bring substantial resources to the market. A smaller team can bring a different set of strengths: the freedom to try a creative idea, react quickly to an opportunity and stay close to what customers value.

I believe those strengths help level the playing field. A small supplier does not need the largest advertising budget to develop a compelling customer proposition. It can focus on an underserved need, make an offer easier to understand or respond to customers in a way that earns their business. Creativity matters most when it produces something useful for the customer.

Speed can matter, too. A management team that can make a decision and act on it has an opportunity to turn a good idea into a competitive advantage. Combine that responsiveness with great customer value, and smaller firms have real ways to compete with much larger businesses.

That is what makes this list worth celebrating. Alongside the major-group brands are smaller private firms gaining ground. Their results should encourage other entrepreneurial teams to keep looking for opportunities and give the rest of us a reason to pay attention.

For those attending EMC26, I hope these companies become part of the conversation. Their experiences offer plenty to discuss about finding opportunities and building a business. That exchange of ideas is one of the great contributions EMC makes to our industry.

Congratulations to all 10 share gainers and the people behind their progress. The success of these smaller firms is a welcome reminder of why I remain enthusiastic about retail energy: there is still room for an entrepreneurial team with a good idea and a strong customer offer to compete and win.

Have a Great EMC26!!!