In this articleGSFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTOmar Marques | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesGoldman Sachs abandoned an ill-fated push into consumer banking in late 2022, but an investment in a Texas energy retailer means its reach into American homes is about to grow.Rhythm Energy, a Houston-based electricity provider overseen and owned by a Goldman Sachs private equity fund, has won approval from federal authorities to expand from its home market into the more than dozen states where deregulated power firms operate, CNBC has learned.That covers energy networks, mostly in the Northeast, that provide electricity for 190 million Americans, according to federal data.The idea that a Goldman-linked company aims to make waves by providing an essential service to Americans could invite scrutiny on the bank and its efforts to grow revenue though so-called alternative investments. It also gets Goldman into an industry, albeit through an intermediary, that critics have called a hotbed of consumer abuse.Bad actorsA wave of energy deregulation that began in the 1990s gave rise to a new group of retailers promising savings versus existing utilities. State attorneys general, consumer groups and industry watchdogs have alleged that some of these retailers use deceptive marketing and billing practices to saddle customers with higher costs. One estimate is that customers paid $19.2 billion more than they needed to in deregulated states over a decade.Rhythm, which calls itself the biggest independent green energy provider in Texas, positions itself as an honest company in a field of less scrupulous players. The startup, which began offering retail energy plans to Texans in 2021, avoids the teaser rates and hidden fees of rivals, it has said.”While some of our competitors like to charge up to 18 hidden fees, we’re proud to charge exactly 0,” Rhythm says on its website.But Rhythm’s Texas customers paid an average rate of 18 cents per kilowatt hour in 2022, five cents per hour more than what customers of the state’s regulated providers paid, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.That figure doesn’t include the impact of credits provided to solar customers, which reduces their costs, according to a person with knowledge of the company who wasn’t authorized to speak on the record.Source: RythymAlthough there have been “bad actors” in the residential power field, there have also been “great retailers with innovative products,” James Bride, an energy consultant, said in an interview. “Realizing the potential there depends on ethical company behavior.”Nothing found in online reviews, interviews with current and former customers and conversations with watchdogs contradicts Rhythm’s claims of fair dealings and good service.”Goldman Sachs invests in numerous industries across our private funds on behalf of clients,” a spokeswoman for the New York-based bank said in response to this article. “Many of those companies operate businesses that serve retail customers. This is not new.”Goldman’s growth engineGoldman’s record of dealings with the American consumer is checkered: The bank was accused of profiting off the 2008 housing bubble by betting against subprime securities. Years later, the bank named its consumer effort Marcus in part to distance itself from that memory. But the consumer division was dragged down by ballooning losses, a talent exodus and unwanted regulatory attention.Goldman CEO David Solomon has now hitched his fortunes to the bank’s asset management division, calling it the “growth engine” after the retail banking bust. As part of that effort, Goldman aims to raise more client money for private equity funds to help his goal of generating $10 billion in fees this year.Private equity firms have transformed the energy landscape in the nation’s largest power markets. …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnIn this articleGSFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTOmar Marques | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesGoldman Sachs abandoned an ill-fated push into consumer banking in late 2022, but an investment in a Texas energy retailer means its reach into American homes is about to grow.Rhythm Energy, a Houston-based electricity provider overseen and owned by a Goldman Sachs private equity fund, has won approval from federal authorities to expand from its home market into the more than dozen states where deregulated power firms operate, CNBC has learned.That covers energy networks, mostly in the Northeast, that provide electricity for 190 million Americans, according to federal data.The idea that a Goldman-linked company aims to make waves by providing an essential service to Americans could invite scrutiny on the bank and its efforts to grow revenue though so-called alternative investments. It also gets Goldman into an industry, albeit through an intermediary, that critics have called a hotbed of consumer abuse.Bad actorsA wave of energy deregulation that began in the 1990s gave rise to a new group of retailers promising savings versus existing utilities. State attorneys general, consumer groups and industry watchdogs have alleged that some of these retailers use deceptive marketing and billing practices to saddle customers with higher costs. One estimate is that customers paid $19.2 billion more than they needed to in deregulated states over a decade.Rhythm, which calls itself the biggest independent green energy provider in Texas, positions itself as an honest company in a field of less scrupulous players. The startup, which began offering retail energy plans to Texans in 2021, avoids the teaser rates and hidden fees of rivals, it has said.”While some of our competitors like to charge up to 18 hidden fees, we’re proud to charge exactly 0,” Rhythm says on its website.But Rhythm’s Texas customers paid an average rate of 18 cents per kilowatt hour in 2022, five cents per hour more than what customers of the state’s regulated providers paid, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.That figure doesn’t include the impact of credits provided to solar customers, which reduces their costs, according to a person with knowledge of the company who wasn’t authorized to speak on the record.Source: RythymAlthough there have been “bad actors” in the residential power field, there have also been “great retailers with innovative products,” James Bride, an energy consultant, said in an interview. “Realizing the potential there depends on ethical company behavior.”Nothing found in online reviews, interviews with current and former customers and conversations with watchdogs contradicts Rhythm’s claims of fair dealings and good service.”Goldman Sachs invests in numerous industries across our private funds on behalf of clients,” a spokeswoman for the New York-based bank said in response to this article. “Many of those companies operate businesses that serve retail customers. This is not new.”Goldman’s growth engineGoldman’s record of dealings with the American consumer is checkered: The bank was accused of profiting off the 2008 housing bubble by betting against subprime securities. Years later, the bank named its consumer effort Marcus in part to distance itself from that memory. But the consumer division was dragged down by ballooning losses, a talent exodus and unwanted regulatory attention.Goldman CEO David Solomon has now hitched his fortunes to the bank’s asset management division, calling it the “growth engine” after the retail banking bust. As part of that effort, Goldman aims to raise more client money for private equity funds to help his goal of generating $10 billion in fees this year.Private equity firms have transformed the energy landscape in the nation’s largest power markets. …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
