How can an energy broker get more business clients?

Business electricity brokering is a timing business. A company signs a supply contract for one, two or three years, forgets about it, and then has a short window before it rolls to a default rate. Brokers who win are the ones in the conversation before that window opens. This page covers where demand comes from, what a client is worth, the channels that work in a B2B sale, and the registration and disclosure rules that shape how you can market.

Most business owners do not search for a broker. They search for a supplier or a price. In the Strive analysis of Google Keyword Planner data from September 2025 to August 2026, the broadest national term in this category was “electricity companies” (10,000 to 100,000 monthly searches), followed by “cheap electricity company”, “commercial electric companies” and “commercial electricity”, each in the 1,000 to 10,000 range¹. Terms that name a broker, such as “energy brokers for business” and “business electricity broker”, sat in the 100 to 1,000 range¹. Keyword Planner reports ranges, not counts.

Three patterns matter for planning:

• Price intent is expensive. Google’s top-of-page bid estimates (high range) were about $151 for “best business electricity rates”, “commercial electricity providers”, “energy brokers for business” and “business electricity broker”, against a median of about $114 across 49 distinct national terms¹. These are bid estimates for a click, not cost per lead.
• Some searches are not for you. “Commercial electric company near me” mixes buyers of power with people who want an electrician. Use negative keywords and read the search terms report weekly.
• State-level search data is thin. No state had enough reliable volume for a state figure we can quote¹. Paid search is thin at the state level, so expect most clients to come from outreach, not search.

Where can businesses choose a supplier?

You can only broker where customers can switch. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that 19 states and the District of Columbia allow some commercial and industrial customers to choose competitive retail power marketers, and 15 of those states plus DC allow all sectors to choose⁸. That figure is from 2019, so confirm current rules state by state before you expand.

Texas works differently from most choice states. In the ERCOT region, customers of investor-owned utilities must buy power from a competitive retail electric provider⁸. Under Texas law, every retail customer has choice except customers of electric cooperatives and municipally owned utilities that have not opted in⁷. In practice, check the utility territory before you prospect a business: a company served by a city utility or a co-op that has not opted in cannot switch, no matter how good your offer is.

EIA also found that commercial and industrial customers have generally paid less per kilowatt-hour through competitive suppliers, while residential customers have generally paid more⁸. That is the honest case for a commercial broker, and it is a reason to stay out of residential selling unless you have a clear edge.

Most brokers are paid by the supplier as a small per-kilowatt-hour amount built into the client’s rate, or by a flat fee from the client. Either way, the value of a client depends on usage and term length, not on how many leads you collect.

Price levels differ widely by state. In July 2026 the average commercial price was 8.47 cents per kilowatt-hour in Texas, 15.19 cents in Illinois and 14.53 cents for the United States as a whole⁹. Year over year, the Texas commercial average fell from 8.85 cents, while Illinois rose from 13.66 cents and Ohio rose from 11.50 to 14.06 cents⁹. A 22% jump in a year (Ohio) gets an owner’s attention far faster than a 4% drop (Texas). Use the EIA table to decide where your outreach story is strongest.

Worked example: what one lead is worth

Illustrative inputs, not sourced benchmarks. Replace them with your own numbers.

• Client usage: 250,000 kWh a year (a mid-size restaurant or small office)
• Broker compensation: 0.3 cents ($0.003) per kWh, paid on usage
• Contract term: 36 months
• Leads that become a meeting with bills in hand: 40%
• Meetings that become a signed contract: 25%

Commission per signed client: 250,000 × 3 × $0.003 = $2,250 over three years. Lead to client rate: 0.40 × 0.25 = 10%. Commission per lead: 0.10 × $2,250 = $225.

Now test that against paid search. If you paid $100 a click (below the $151 top-of-page estimates above¹) and 10% of clicks became leads, each lead would cost $1,000. That is more than four times what the lead is worth. Paid search on broker terms only pays when the average account is much larger.

Run it again for a 1,000,000 kWh account: commission is 1,000,000 × 3 × $0.003 = $9,000, and the value per lead at the same conversion rates is $900. That is close to break-even at $1,000 a lead. The decision rule: know the minimum annual usage at which a lead pays for itself, and qualify every lead on usage before you spend time on it.

Also check the client’s side. At the Texas average of 8.47 cents⁹, a 0.3 cent adder is about 3.5% of the average price per kilowatt-hour. Owners who later see that number on a disclosure (required in some states, see below) will compare it to the value you added. Price your compensation so you are comfortable showing it.

Ranked for a small brokerage selling to small and mid-size businesses. Large-account brokers who run RFPs for manufacturers or hospital systems should move account-based outreach and procurement to the top.

Renewal-date outreach

Every client you sign has an end date. So does every prospect who tells you “we just signed”. Record the end date, the usage and the decision-maker for every conversation, even the ones that go nowhere. A broker with 500 known end dates has a steady pipeline. A broker with 5,000 unknown businesses has a cold-calling job.

Texas rules make the window visible for residential and small commercial customers. For a fixed-rate product, the retail provider must send at least three written expiration notices during the last third of the contract. For contracts of 12 months or longer, the first notice may go out up to three months before the end date, and for small commercial customers the final notice must arrive at least 14 days before expiration⁵. If the customer does nothing, the provider moves them to a default month-to-month product they can cancel at any time without a fee⁵. That default product is the trigger: a business that rolls onto it may pay more, and an owner who just got an expiration notice is ready to compare.

“Small commercial” has a precise meaning in Texas: a non-residential customer with peak demand under 50 kilowatts in any 12-month period, unless its load is part of an aggregation over 50 kilowatts⁶. Know which side of that line each prospect sits on, because the protections and the products you can offer differ.

Referral partners

Accountants see utility bills every month. Property managers sign or influence supply contracts for many buildings. Franchise and multi-site groups make one decision for dozens of meters. A common rule of thumb is that one good referral partner is worth more than a month of cold outreach, but only if you give them something back: a quarterly bill review for their clients, or a short report they can forward. Disclose any payment to partners the same way you disclose your own compensation, and have an attorney review any revenue-share arrangement before you offer it.

Account-based email and LinkedIn

For accounts large enough to justify research, build a short list (50 to 200 companies), find the person who signs the energy contract (often the controller, CFO or facilities lead), and write to each one with something specific: their utility territory, the recent price move in their state⁹, or a known renewal window. Generic “lower your electric bill” blasts get filtered and reported.

Associations and trade shows

Restaurant, grocery, hotel and manufacturing associations hold events where owners talk about operating costs. Treat a booth as a way to collect contract end dates, not to close. The follow-up call three months later, timed to the renewal window, is where the sale happens.

Paid and organic search

Search demand is real but concentrated. Nationally, terms such as “business electricity plans”, “commercial electricity providers” and “best business electricity rates” sat in the 100 to 1,000 range, with top-of-page bid estimates (high range) of about $150 to $151¹, and no state had enough reliable volume for a state figure¹. Run paid search only with tight usage qualification on the form. Write organic pages that answer real questions (how a default renewal product works, how demand charges show up on a bill) so they earn links and citations over time.

Lead vendors

Buying leads can fill a calendar, but ask any vendor how consent was collected and whether the leads are exclusive. Shared leads go to several brokers at once, and the fastest caller usually wins. If a vendor’s leads come with phone numbers, read the TCPA section below first.

This is not legal advice. The rules below are examples; confirm the rules in each state where you sell with an energy regulatory attorney.

Texas registration

• Registration is required. A person may not provide brokerage services, including online, in Texas for compensation unless registered with the PUC as a broker. Brokerage services means advice or procurement help to a retail electric customer about choosing a retail electric provider or its products. A retail electric provider may not register as a broker, and a broker may not sell or take title to electric energy².
• Unregistered brokers lose access to offers. A retail electric provider may not knowingly give bids or offers to an unregistered person providing brokerage services for compensation². Providers may rely on the public broker list on the PUC website³.
• The application. The rule lists what you file: up to five business names, contact persons for the commission, customer service and complaints, business form, and an affidavit of good standing and accuracy. The PUC must process an application within 60 days of filing²³.
• Keep it current. A registration expires three years after the number is assigned or last updated. Submit the update at least 90 days before expiration, and amend any change in name, address, email or phone within 30 days³.
• Penalties. The PUC can impose administrative penalties and suspend or revoke a registration for false information, deceptive practices, switching a customer without authorization, or billing unauthorized charges³.

Texas disclosure and marketing rules

The customer protection rule for brokers, 16 TAC 25.486, sets the marketing rules⁴:

• All written, electronic and oral communications, including ads, websites and direct mail, must be clear and not misleading. You may not imply that brokerage gives more reliable service from the wires utility, falsely imply that you represent a utility, provider or another broker, or falsely state that your services are provided without compensation.
• Every printed ad, internet ad and website must include your registered name.
• Before you start services, renew them, or change them materially, you must tell the client your registered name and contact details, your PUC registration number, any affiliated retail electric provider, what you will do, how long the agreement lasts, how you will be compensated and by whom, how to terminate, any termination fee, and the PUC’s complaint contact information.
• Acting as the client’s agent requires a written agreement, plus disclosures on what you are authorized to do and how you will use and protect the client’s data.
• You may not switch a customer’s provider without authorization, and you may not release or sell proprietary client information without written authorization.
• Larger clients can agree in writing to a different level of broker protections; residential and small commercial customers cannot.

Two product rules also bind brokers: a retail electric provider, aggregator or broker may not offer an indexed product to a residential or small commercial customer (since February 1, 2022), or a wholesale indexed product to those customers (since September 1, 2021)⁵.

Another state example: Illinois

Illinois requires a license from the Illinois Commerce Commission for agents, brokers and consultants who procure or sell retail electricity supply for third parties, with an exclusion when the customer’s aggregate billing demand across its Illinois accounts is greater than 1,500 kilowatts¹⁰. Licensed brokers must disclose in plain language, in writing, to everyone they solicit the total price per kilowatt-hour and the total anticipated cost including all fees or commissions the broker receives. Before the customer signs, they must disclose that they will be paid by the supplier, if applicable. They may not call themselves independent if they have a contract with a supplier, must keep marketing materials for at least three years, and may not present pricing that favors one supplier without a valid comparison¹⁰. Third-party sales representatives must also disclose before signing that they do not work for the local utility¹⁰.

The pattern across both states is the same: say who pays you, do not pretend to be neutral or free, and keep records. Build those three habits into every script and template, and expanding to a new state becomes a check of the details rather than a rebuild.

Cold email: CAN-SPAM

The CAN-SPAM Act covers commercial email and has no exception for business-to-business email¹¹. Each email that violates it can draw penalties of up to $53,088¹¹. The main requirements¹¹¹²:

• Accurate “From”, “To”, “Reply-To” and routing information that identifies the sender
• A subject line that reflects the content
• Clear disclosure that the message is an ad
• A valid physical postal address
• A clear way to opt out, honored within 10 business days, with no fee and no extra steps beyond a reply email or a single web page visit¹¹¹²

If you hire a firm to send email for you, both you and the sender can be liable¹¹.

Phone outreach: the TCPA

Federal rules restrict autodialed or prerecorded calls to cell phone numbers without prior express consent (prior express written consent when the call is telemarketing), and telephone solicitations to residential subscribers on the national Do Not Call registry¹³. Many small business owners list their cell phone as the business line. Treat those numbers as covered, dial manually or get written consent, and see the TCPA guide linked on this page for the details.

The sourced data above does not show a reliable month-by-month curve for business electricity searches. Two drivers are better guides than the calendar:

• Contract end dates. Expirations cluster around the months when past deals were signed. Map your own database by end month and staff for the clusters.
• Price moves. State averages can swing sharply. Ohio’s commercial average rose about 22% between July 2025 and July 2026, while Texas fell about 4%⁹. Rising prices make owners take meetings; falling prices make them ask whether to lock in now. Both are reasons to call, with a different script.

Watch the EIA monthly table for your states and update your outreach message when it moves⁹.

• Hiding the commission. Texas requires you to describe how and by whom you are paid, and bars falsely saying the service is free⁴. Illinois requires total cost disclosure including your compensation¹⁰. Hiding it also loses renewals when the client finds out.
• Prospecting customers who cannot switch. Co-op and municipal customers in Texas often have no choice⁷. Check the utility before the first call.
• Treating every lead the same. A 50,000 kWh account and a 5,000,000 kWh account do not deserve the same effort. Qualify on usage first, as the worked example shows.
• Losing track of end dates. A broker’s real asset is the list of contract end dates. Keep it in a CRM, not in email threads.
• Letting the registration lapse. An expired Texas registration drops you from the public broker list, and providers can stop taking your bids²³.
• Blasting email without CAN-SPAM basics. No postal address, no opt-out, or a misleading subject line can turn a campaign into a liability¹¹.

• Energy brokering is a renewal-timing business. A clean database of contract end dates beats any lead source.
• Texas requires PUC registration, your registered name on all ads, and a clear disclosure of how and by whom you are paid. Illinois requires total cost disclosure including your compensation.
• Paid search on broker terms carries top-of-page bid estimates near $151, so it only pays for large-usage accounts. Do the per-lead math first.
• Cold email is legal B2B, but CAN-SPAM applies to every message, with penalties up to $53,088 per email.
• Check the utility territory before you prospect. Customers of co-ops and city utilities that have not opted in cannot switch.