In a deal closely followed within the energy industry, Direct Energy has purchased Pittsburgh-based energy retailer Strategic Energy. While the acquisition "will position Direct Energy as the largest integrated competitive retailer and one of the commercial and industrial (C&I) sector’s most formidable competitors," as Taff Tschamler, Director of Retail Energy Practice at research firm KEMA puts it, it also speaks to the current strength of the competitive energy industry.

"The merger could unlock an elusive opportunity: an effective supply-business service model," Tschamler adds. "The vast momentum towards cleaner, smarter energy has hardly been scratched by C&I retailers." He adds that competitive energy enterprises such as Direct Energy represent the future of the industry, forging a new path in an industry undergoing transformation, while "commodity-only C&I retailers will be relegated to a slower growth, credit burdened" industry .