Students living Downtown know that paying gas and electricity off campus can be an expensive but unavoidable task. When looking into your options, though, Ambit Energy is one electric service company for which you should read the fine print.

New York State’s deregulation of Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) gives residents the option to buy their own natural gas supply from sources other than just the traditional utility companies. Choosing an ESCO can be overwhelming. The NYS Public Service Commission’s website lists 29 ESCOs that have met their requirements to provide service to residents in just Broome County alone.

But according to Ambit Energy’s New York Sales Agreement and Terms of Service, the company has guaranteed its customers gas and electric savings of 7 percent to New York State Electric & Gas’ (NYSEG) daily published supply rate.

This company has begun to pop up across Binghamton University’s campus and at various organizations to advertise their services. Along with trying to sell their energy services, however, Ambit Energy also tries to convince students that the company can help you earn residual income, as long as you become a consultant and sign other consultants.

Gregory Lesko, a BU business law professor, said students should be cautious before signing any contracts. According to Lesko, Ambit Energy’s consultant contract is heavily slanted toward the company and can be very costly if not closely examined.

Lesko also stressed that unless the consultants you sign meet certain requirements, consultants will not receive any income from Ambit.

Most importantly, seniors looking to enter any type of marketing career should be weary of signing such a contract because of Ambit’s one-year territorial clause. Employment in any marketing position outside of Ambit Energy will be viewed as a conflict of interest.

Ambit’s website is filled with advertisements using pictures and profiles of its consultants to promote their services. After signing the contract there is no way for a student to stop Ambit from making such advertisements public content.

‘Ambit does not guarantee you any reimbursement for any losses,’ Lesko explained. ‘Ambit can use your entire ‘person’ in order to market their product.’

But Brian McClure, Ambit Energy’s founding consultant and top earner, stressed the importance of its consultants.

‘Consultants help people switch from their current provider to Ambit,’ McClure said. ‘We use the same gas and electric distribution that NYSEG uses. While we sell the utilities, customers still refer to NYSEG for outages and other problems.’

A current consultant with the company, Ryan Blauer, a senior majoring in math and a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity, expressed his optimism with the prospect of earning residual income.

‘As long as I sign one other person, who signs another customer, I will continue to receive an income from my network even if I don’t sign additional consultants,’ Blauer said.

According to Blauer, fees include $400 at signing and an additional $25 monthly fee for a personalized Ambit Energy website that is required upon signing.

During an initial meeting with an executive consultant from Ambit, Blauer and other members of his fraternity were told of the importance of getting potential consultants to watch Ambit’s sales pitch video.

After signing with Ambit a month ago, Blauer is still down over $225. While he has signed several customers over to Ambit’s services, he currently has yet to sign a consultant due to midterms, a job and other responsibilities.