BP targets US retail power market with cleaner fuel mix

  • Date: 26-Apr-2021
  • Source: Financial Times
  • Sector:Retail
  • Country:Gulf
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BP targets US retail power market with cleaner fuel mix

BP has applied to supply US residential customers with electricity as the UK oil and gas major seeks to shift its energy mix towards cleaner fuels. 

The company wants to provide electricity generated from wind, solar and natural gas in California, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas, according to a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 

BP has a large power trading division that enables wholesale US sales through bespoke, long-term deals with customers such as cities, but the FERC application is a step towards what would be its first move into the retail sector. 

The oil and gas company is creating a new subsidiary called BP Energy Retail to sell electricity straight to US business clients and households "at market-based rates“.

The filing, first reported by Reuters, said "BP Energy Retail is a retail energy marketing company that intends to sell electricity products directly to commercial and industrial customers and residential customers.“

BP pledged last year to become a net-zero emissions business by 2050, promising to increase its renewable power generation capacity 20-fold and invest in cleaner energy businesses in the coming years. It also plans to cut fossil fuel production by 40 per cent.

The company, which reports its first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, said