Market rates prompt Chicago
Cubs to shop for power

Constellation NewEnergy wins Wrigley Field

Constellation NewEnergy signed a fixed price contract with the Chicago Cubs for 2.9 mw of supply.
        The Illinois market is heating up since the switch to market rates for standard service at the start of the year.
        Constellation saw lots of new customers in the market with the rate switches, said Julie Hextell, vice president and business leader for Constellation NewEnergy’s Great Lakes region.
        Signing the Cubs was special. She’s a lifelong fan.
        Some sectors of the Illinois market are getting tapped out -- such as larger users -- but Hextell sees growth possibilities in various segments.
        Constellation NewEnergy’s position as the largest marketer in the country gives it access to many markets.
        That experience lets the firm know what products do the best in different markets, Hextell said.
        Wrigley Field isn’t Constellation NewEnergy’s only stadium -- it has the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Heinz Field and the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium, said the firm’s Larry McDonnell.
        The Cubs play in the second oldest ball park in the country and need the lower energy prices so they can focus on maintenance and other operating expenses, Constellation told the press.
        Originally published in Restructuring Today on February 23, 2007