Start-up Auto-Switching Concierge Service Announces $9M Seed Round, Will Expand Nationwide

Names Retail Vet As Head of Brokerage

September 28, 2023

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Copyright 2010-23 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com

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Arbor Energy Brokerage Services LLC, an affiliate of Arbor Energy Holdings Inc., is in the process of seeking electricity broker licenses in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Ohio, Maine, New Hampshire, Maryland, and Illinois

As was exclusively first reported by EnergyChoiceMatters.com in January 2023 -- when the company, in its own words, was, "operating under the radar" -- Arbor Energy Holdings Inc. is a start-up founded by Andrew Meyer, who formerly held roles in Strategy & Corporate Development at Inspire

Arbor recently announced that it raised $9 million in seed funding led by First Round Capital, with participation from Obvious Ventures, Spring Tide, and strategic angels such as Jon Stein (Co-Founder of Betterment), JD Ross (Co-Founder of Opendoor), Patrick Maloney (Founder of Inspire and Clean Industry Ventures), and Kiran Bhatraju (Co-Founder and CEO of Arcadia), among others

Arbor has said that it has been engaged in a "test" phase in various markets, operating under the platform of another licensed broker (as noted, Arbor registered earlier this year as a broker in Texas)

Arbor has stated, "we’ve built the first roboadvisor for energy."

Arbor has described its service as follows, "For consumers who do not have the time or knowledge to manage their energy supply successfully, Arbor offers a safe and easy solution. Users sign up by securely linking their local utility account to our platform, using the username and password from their utility provider, giving us historic and ongoing access to their utility bill data. Arbor then monitors their current electric supply rate and compares that to rates available from competitive energy suppliers. When we find a lower rate that we believe will lower the user’s energy cost, we notify the user automatically by e-mail, encouraging them to switch. Users also have the option to activate our “Autopilot” service, which will not only notify them when there is a lower rate, but also automatically request that rate on their behalf from the relevant supplier. We notify users and encourage them to rescind within the rescission period if they do not want to switch, and we handle the cancellation process if they choose to rescind. Users can manage our service through their online account with Arbor. Once a user switches their provider, the lower rate appears on their upcoming utility bills. During the term, users can request to cancel anytime, which we also handle for them, and we offer to reimburse any early termination fees. When the initial term expires, we do the same process again and search for another low fixed rate to prevent our users from being exposed to risky variable rates. For users who have activated Autopilot, when we do not have a rate lower than the default utility service in the user’s area, we proactively cancel the expiring rate and return them to the default service. For those users, we continue monitoring and will only request another rate if it is lower than their current rate in the future."

Arbor said that it will also provide other services, and has advised on home energy upgrades, including rooftop solar, batteries, weatherization, and other energy-saving solutions. Arbor also states that it recommends the most relevant home electrification upgrades

Jeff Mahoney recently joined Arbor as Head of Brokerage

Mahoney previously served as Director of Market Analytics at Amerex Energy Services

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