Federal regulators should not allow Goldman Sachs to become the first Wall Street bank to sell retail electricity contracts to U.S. households, a campaigner with Public Citizen argued Wednesday.
"Competitive retail electricity suppliers solicit households to sign contracts to provide electricity, often door-to-door," said Tyson Slocum, director of the consumer watchdog's energy program, in a statement. "The industry is known to frequently employ unfair and deceptive marketing and sales tactics, disproportionately impacting low-income communities, communities of color, and the elderly."
"It is highly concerning to see a large Wall Street bank enter a market known for its lack of consumer protection," declared Slocum, who also dove into problems with the competitive retail electricity industry and a related application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in a short essay.