American Power and Gas CEO Tom Cummins wants to make a few things abundantly clear: “There are two areas that we are interested in. One is the improvement in the production and generation of solar energy. The other, is the ability to store this energy. As the ability to produce and store this energy increases, the energy will become cheaper and more efficient, which is needed to be able to provide renewable energy on a very large scale. In fact, you will only need a very small percentage of the US territory collecting solar energy to produce enough to support the entire United States. For example, with a tiny corner of Nevada we could provide the whole United States with power.”
His company, American Power & Gas, has gone from a handful of widely scattered customers to nearly half a million subscribers in less than a decade because, claims Cummins, they are deeply committed to a strong social consciousness when it comes to customer input and reaction. The company originally worked exclusively with other energy providers, before Cummins and others sensed a swelling tide in the communities where they did most of their consulting for better access to renewable energy options. This meant that consumers were becoming more and more vocal in their demands for access to solar energy and wind energy, and all other types of green energy available. Building on that demand, American Power & Gas has become a major player in the green energy field in several states, such as New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.
With the senate recently passing tax bills favoring fossil fuels as opposed to renewable energy, the need for public demand of change has sparked quite an argument. Currently, 80% of all consumption of energy in the US comes from industrial companies that are using crude fossil fuels as opposed to clean energy sources such as wind and solar. A little known fact about green energy is that despite the belief if you are buying green energy from your home, there is no real way to discern the “brown energy” from the green as it’s all sourced from the same grid. Force of change on a massive scale is the only real way to make the shift to green for sustainable change.
Regarding public demand for change, Cummins had this to say: It might not be today, and I don’t know if it is going to take one year, two years or even ten years, but there will be a shift to where you can get non-fossil fuel, sustainable energy for the same price you pay to pollute the air, and who would choose otherwise if that was the case? That is what we are disrupting – the status quo. We are going out there and saying, yes, you can have everything that you want, but you don’t have to hurt the environment to get it, nor do you have to pay through the nose to get it. That’s what we are working on here to do and we are pushing forward with that.”
Prior to starting American Power and Gas, Cummins worked in the telecommunications industry, so he knows how important solid and helpful information is for both his staff and for his growing customer base. He wants to keep the message his company tells consumers simple and direct:
The future belongs to green energy, and we’re here to help you achieve a renewable energy lifestyle that fits your budget and your conscience.
