American Electric Power and AEP Retail Energy, its unregulated subsidiary, have acquired BlueStar Energy Holdings Inc. and its independent retail electric supplier BlueStar Energy Solutions. Chicago-based BlueStar provides electric supply for retail customers in Illinois, Ohio and other deregulated energy markets and also provides nationwide demand response and energy efficiency services. The company has more than 23,000 accounts and has been in operation since 2002.
Operations will remain based in Chicago and will continue to focus on providing retail electric service for commercial, residential and industrial customers in deregulated states. American Electric Power is one of the largest utilities in the United States, serving more than 5million customers in 11 states. Ranking among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, AEP owns the largest electricity system with a nearly 39,000mile network.