PAETEC furthers energy play with Energy Partners acquisition

PAETEC might be initially known for its competitive business provider skills, but its acquisition of Amherst, N.Y.-based electric supplier U.S. Energy Partners for about $3 million points to the idea that telecom and energy are complementary.  

E.J. Butler, Jr, PAETEC's Chief Operating Officer, said that the argument to combine energy with telecommunications services illustrates the fact that the "average customer spends four times as much on energy as they do on telecommunications." Such a trend is not that surprising given the ongoing build outs of customer service centers and data centers by larger businesses customers.    

By acquiring the privately held U.S. Energy, PAETEC gets access to 3,500 electric customers in Western New York State. The service provider will act as a broker of energy services to its existing communications customers in the region.

However, PAETEC is no stranger to the energy business. In addition to running its PAETEC Energy division, PAETEC in 2008 acquired electric and gas brokerage company VARO Technologies. Going forward, PAETEC plans to add more sales bandwidth to its Energy Division.

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