David and Goliath revisited

This paper describes the conflict between a small independent energy services company (ESCO), Sherber Associates, Inc., against a large utility company that simultaneously administered a rebate program that the small ESCO depended on, and that also owned an unregulated ESCO that competed directly against the small independent ESCO. Efforts to negotiate failed and this dispute wound up in litigation. When regulators allow utility companies to run high dollar rebate programs and own unregulated ESCO subsidiaries that also compete against independent ESCOs for these rebate dollars, a conflict of interest is established that can lead to predatory behavior by the utility company.