How CN Brown Energy Cut Scheduling Errors by 50% and Protected Every Margin Dollar
A 70-year-old family business with 1,000+ employees needed modern energy risk management without losing the hands-on approach that built their reputation. Risk360 delivered both.
Who is CN Brown Energy?
CN Brown Energy is a trusted family-owned business with over 70 years in the energy industry, serving customers across Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts. With more than 1,000 employees, 73 Big Apple convenience stores, 24 heating oil offices, 9 service stations, and a network of 100+ gasoline dealers, CN Brown is a cornerstone of New England's energy landscape — the kind of company where reliability isn't a marketing claim, it's a seven-decade track record.
Comprehensive
A full-spectrum energy provider covering petroleum, heating oil, gas, and electric across four New England states.
Reliable
1,000+ employees, 100+ dealer relationships, and a logistics network that delivers energy rain, shine, or nor'easter.
Stable
Seven decades of family ownership means decisions are made for the long term — not the next quarter.
The Challenge
Procurement Precision in a Market That Doesn't Forgive Mistakes
In energy procurement, being wrong by even a few percentage points compounds fast. CN Brown faced the challenges that keep every energy provider's operations team up at night:
- Procuring the right volume of energy at competitive prices — every single day
- Aligning customer pricing accurately with market conditions that shift by the hour
- Forecasting demand in a region where weather can swing 40 degrees in 24 hours
The margin between "good day" and "bad day" in energy procurement is razor-thin. CN Brown needed a partner who could make that margin work in their favor, consistently.
The Solution
200+ Years of Collective Expertise, Delivered as a Service
CN Brown chose Risk360's managed services to bring institutional-grade energy management capabilities to their operations without building a massive internal team:
- A team with over 200 years of collective expertise in electricity and natural gas risk management
- Daily pricing matrix for accurate client energy pricing that protects margins
- Precise demand forecasting powered by Risk360's in-house climatologist — critical in New England's volatile weather patterns
The Results
50% More Accurate Scheduling, Zero Guesswork
“With Risk360, the accuracy of the data and reporting is tremendous. So much so, that the dedicated loads we request from the independent system operator (ISO) each day now has a 50% improvement in accuracy.”
— Lori Hemmerdinger, Sales Manager, CN Brown Energy
A 50% improvement in daily load scheduling accuracy doesn't just look good on paper — it translates directly to protected margins, reduced imbalance exposure, and fewer expensive surprises from the ISO. For a company managing energy across four states with 1,000+ employees depending on steady operations, that kind of precision is foundational.
Risk360's team handles forecasting, extreme weather scenario planning, scheduling, nominations, hedging, and portfolio management — essentially serving as CN Brown's energy risk department. Daily, they deliver a pricing matrix that keeps customer rates accurately aligned with market conditions, while comprehensive RPS compliance reporting provides a complete audit trail for internal and external stakeholders.
“By leaning upon Risk360's managed services we can focus on our customers a bit more.”
— Lori Hemmerdinger, Sales Manager, CN Brown Energy
For a family business that's thrived for 70 years by putting customers first, that last line says everything.