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G R E AT E R H A R T F O R D ' S B U S I N E S S N E W S w w w. H a r t f o rd B u s i n e s s . c o m For more B2B news visit JANUARY 11, 2016 Volume 24, Number 6 $3.00 Subscribe online Friday, March 18th, 2016 8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Hartford Hilton L E A R N I N N O V A T E C O L L A B O R A T E S A V E SUMMIT ANNUAL 's Index ■ Week in Review: PG. 6 ■ The List: PG. 8 ■ Deal Watch: PG. 9 ■ Movers & Shakers: PG. 18 ■ Nonprofit Notebook: PG. 18 ■ Opinion & Commentary: PG. 20 Academic Support Central Connecticut State University's Institute of Technology & Business Development is turning students and faculty into manufacturing consultants. Find out how CCSU's faculty-in- residence program is part of a growing number of academic- and industry-sponsored initiatives aimed at helping manufacturers innovate and boost productivity. PG. 3 Accelerating Growth Hartford-based Social Enterprise Trust, also known as reSET, is redesigning its startup accelerator program by opening it up to startups across the country. PG. 5 5 to Watch in 2016 A s we begin a new year Hart- ford Business Journal has identified five Greater Hart- ford business, education and non- profit leaders who will be under the spotlight in 2016 as they lead their organizations through major changes and developments. Find out who those business lead- ers are, what challenges and opportu- nities await them, and how their deci- sions will impact the broader Greater Hartford community. PG. 10 P H O T O | S T E V E L A S C H E V E R Electric suppliers see customer drop-off By Matt Pilon mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com C onnecticut has developed one of the more robust competitive electricity retail mar- kets in the country, but electricity suppli- ers have taken some lumps in the past few years, losing market share amid consumer complaints and tougher government oversight. Third-party suppliers — state-licensed companies that buy wholesale electricity and resell it to residential and commercial custom- ers — lost nearly 26 percent of their custom- ers (188,000) between 2012 and Nov. 2015, state data shows. The bulk of the losses have taken place in the residential market, where suppliers now claim one-third of the customer base, down from a 2012 peak of 45 percent. Three consecutive years of decline in the young and sometimes controversial industry, which signed up just 3 percent of utility custom- ers a decade ago, has occurred against a back- drop of tightening regulations, including a 2015 ban on variable-rate contracts, state fines and other penalties for supplier misconduct, and stricter rules for disclosing contract terms and notifying customers of pending rate increases. Continued on page 16 Electricity Supplier Customers S O U R C E : P U B L I C U T I L I T I E S R E G U L A T O R Y A U T H O R I T Y 0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 700,000 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 499,092 579,752 631,350 592,102 485,678 457,416