Corporate History
Beginning in 1979 with oil-trading ventures in Latin America and Africa, Citizens has used revenues from commercial enterprises to channel millions of dollars into charitable programs in the U.S. and abroad. Whether heating the homes of the elderly and the poor, lowering the cost of prescription drugs for millions of Americans, or starting solar heating projects in Jamaica and Venezuela, Citizens has created social ventures as innovative as the businesses that finance them. The founder of Citizens Energy Corporation, Joseph P. Kennedy II has served as Chairman and President of the company since 1998 following 12 years of service representing the 8th Congressional District of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Oil
Citizens Energy signed its first crude oil contract with Venezuela in November 1979. Joseph P. Kennedy II arranged storage deals with major terminal operators and contracted with hundreds of retail dealers to deliver the oil to needy Massachusetts families at 40 percent below market rates. By the end of its first 18 months of operations, Citizens Energy had acquired and delivered more than 13 million gallons of home heating oil from Venezuela to elderly and poor families in Massachusetts. In addition, Massachusetts itself purchased oil from Citizens Energy, using state and federal energy assistance funds, saving the state $4.1 million.

Natural Gas
With the nation facing alarming increases in natural gas prices in the early 1980s, Citizens Energy Corporation began exploring opportunities to enter into the natural gas market. Citizens Energy believed that the same business model used in its Oil Heat Program – the use of for-profit opportunities to drive down the price of heating oil – could be applied to the natural gas industry.

Electricity
In 1985, Citizens Energy began its electricity industry operations by buying power from utilities with surplus generating capacity, reselling the excess power to other utilities, and using the profits to help low-income families pay their electricity bills. This initial experience ultimately led Citizens to win a landmark federal decision that foreshadowed the deregulation of the electricity industry and the formation of an independent Citizens Energy electric power marketing company.

Conservation
Citizens Conservation Corporation was created in 1981 to augment Citizens Energy’s fuel assistance programs. Recognizing that the least expensive form of energy is the energy saved through conservation and efficiency, Citizens Energy saw that its subsidized home heating oil often was wasted in poorly weatherized apartments with inefficient heating systems. By providing design, engineering, and construction management services, Citizens Conservation reduced energy waste in tens of thousands of housing units and made rental housing more livable and affordable.

Citizens Energy Corporation

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