RISK FACTORS

Investing in our Class A common stock involves risks. You should carefully consider the information in this prospectus, including the matters addressed under “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” and the following risks before making an investment decision. The trading price of our Class A common stock could decline and our ability to pay dividends on our Class A common stock could be adversely impacted due to any of these risks, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Related to Our Business

We are subject to commodity price risk.

Our financial results are largely dependent on the prices at which we can acquire the commodities we resell. The prevailing market prices for natural gas and electricity have historically, and may continue to, fluctuate substantially over relatively short periods of time, potentially adversely impacting our results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock. Changes in market prices for natural gas and electricity may result from many factors that are outside of our control, including the following:

Additionally, significant changes in the pricing methods in the wholesale markets in which we operate could affect our commodity prices. Regulatory policies concerning how markets are structured, how compensation is provided for service, and the kinds of different services that can or must be offered, may change and could have significant impacts on our costs of doing business. For example, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (“ERCOT”) has recently considered supplementing the existing energy and ancillary service markets with a mandate to purchase installed capacity, which could have the effect of increasing our supply costs. Similarly, ERCOT recently adopted a new reserve imbalance market that will increase prices in certain circumstances. Changes to the prices we pay to acquire commodities and that we are not able to pass along to our customers could materially adversely affect our operations, which could negatively impact our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

Our financial results may be adversely impacted by weather conditions.

Weather conditions directly influence the demand for and availability of natural gas and electricity and affect the prices of energy commodities. Generally, on most utility systems, demand for natural gas peaks in the winter and demand for electricity peaks in the summer. Typically, when winters are warmer or summers are cooler, demand

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for energy is lower than expected, resulting in less natural gas and electricity consumption than forecasted. When demand is below anticipated levels due to weather patterns, we may be forced to sell excess supply at prices below our acquisition cost, which could result in reduced margins or even losses.

Conversely, when winters are colder or summers are warmer, consumption may outpace the volumes of natural gas and electricity against which we have hedged, and we may be unable to meet increased demand with storage or swing supply. In these circumstances, we may experience reduced margins or even losses if we are required to purchase additional supply at higher prices. Our failure to accurately anticipate demand due to fluctuations in weather or to effectively manage our supply in response to a fluctuating commodity price environment could negatively impact our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

Our risk management policies and hedging procedures may not mitigate risk as planned, and we may fail to fully or effectively hedge our commodity supply and price risk exposure against changes in consumption volumes or market rates.

To provide energy to our customers, we purchase the relevant commodity in the wholesale energy markets, which are often highly volatile. Our commodity risk management strategy is designed to hedge substantially all of our forecasted volumes on our fixed-price customer contracts, as well as a portion of the near-term volumes on our variable-price customer contracts. We use both physical and financial products to hedge our fixed-price exposure. The efficacy of our risk management program may be adversely impacted by unanticipated events and costs that we are not able to effectively hedge, including abnormal customer attrition and consumption, certain variable costs associated with electricity grid reliability, pricing differences in the local markets for local delivery of commodities, unanticipated events that impact supply and demand, such as extreme weather, and abrupt changes in the markets for, or availability or cost of, financial instruments that help to hedge commodity price.

We are exposed to basis risk in our operations when the commodities we hedge are sold at different delivery points from the exposure we are seeking to hedge. For example, if we hedge our natural gas commodity price with Chicago basis but physical supply must be delivered to the individual delivery points of specific utility systems around the Chicago metropolitan area, we are exposed to basis risk between the Chicago basis and the individual utility system delivery points. These differences can be significant from time to time, particularly during extreme, unforecasted cold weather conditions. Similarly, in certain of our electricity markets, customers pay the load zone price for electricity, so if we purchase supply to be delivered at a hub, we may have basis risk between the hub and the load zone electricity prices due to local congestion that is not reflected in the hub price. We attempt to hedge basis risk where possible, but hedging instruments are sometimes not economically feasible or available in the smaller quantities that we require.

In addition, we incur costs monthly for ancillary charges such as reserves and capacity in the electricity sector by the ISOs. For instance, the ISOs will charge all retail electricity providers for monthly reserves that the ISO determines are necessary to protect the integrity of the grid. We attempt to estimate such amounts but they are difficult to estimate because they are charged in arrears by the ISOs and are subject to fluctuations based on weather and other market conditions. We may be unable to fully pass the higher cost of ancillary reserves and reliability services through to our customers, and increases in the cost of these ancillary reserves and reliability services could negatively impact our results of operations.

Additionally, assumptions that we use in establishing our hedges may reduce the effectiveness of our hedging instruments. Considerations that may affect our hedging policies include, but are not limited to, human error, assumptions about customer attrition, the relationship of prices at different trading or delivery points, assumptions about future weather, and our load forecasting models.

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Many of the natural gas utilities we serve allocate a share of transportation and storage capacity to us as a part of their competitive market operations. We are required to fill our allocated storage capacity with natural gas, which creates commodity supply and price risk. Sometimes we cannot hedge the volumes associated with these assets because they are too small compared to the much larger bulk transaction volumes required for trades in the wholesale market or it is not economically feasible to do so. In some regulatory programs or under some contracts, this capacity may be subject to recall by the utilities, which could have the effect of us being required to access the spot market to cover such recall.

In general, if we are unable to effectively manage our risk management policies and hedging procedures, our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock could be adversely affected.

We depend on consistent regulation within a particular utility territory (or state), as well as at the federal level, to permit us to operate in restructured, competitive segments of the natural gas and electricity industries. If competitive restructuring of the natural gas and electricity utility industries is altered, reversed, discontinued or delayed, our business prospects and financial results could be materially adversely affected.

We operate in the highly regulated natural gas and electricity retail sales industry. Regulations may be revised or reinterpreted or new laws and regulations may be adopted or become applicable to us or our operations. Such changes may have a detrimental impact on our business.

In certain restructured energy markets, state legislatures, governmental agencies and/or other interested parties have made proposals to fully or partially re-regulate these markets, which would interfere with our ability to do business. If competitive restructuring of natural gas or electricity markets is altered, reversed, discontinued or delayed, our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock could be adversely affected.

The retail energy business is subject to a high level of federal, state and local regulation.

State, federal and local rules and regulations affecting the retail energy business are subject to change, which may adversely impact our business model. Our costs of doing business may fluctuate based on these regulatory changes. For example, many electricity markets have rate caps, and changes to these rate caps by regulators can impact future price exposure. Similarly, regulatory changes can result in new fees or charges that may not have been anticipated when existing retail contracts were drafted, which can create financial exposure. For example, mandates to purchase a certain quantity or type of electricity capacity can create unanticipated costs. Our ability to manage cost increases that result from regulatory changes will depend, in part, on how the “change in law provisions” of our contracts are interpreted and enforced, among other factors.

Operators of systems providing for the delivery of natural gas and electricity maintain detailed tariffs that are kept on file with regulators. These tariffs and market rules applicable to operators are often very long and complex, and often are subject to service provider proposals to change them. We may not be able to prevent adoption of adverse tariff changes. Users of energy delivery systems also have rules and obligations applicable to them that are established by regulators. For instance, transactions involving a shipper’s release of interstate pipeline capacity are subject to regulation at the federal level. Our failure to abide by tariffs, market rules or other delivery system rules may result in fines, penalties and damages.

We are also subject to regulatory scrutiny in all of our markets that can give rise to compliance fees, licensing fees, or enforcement penalties. Regulations vary widely in the markets in which we operate, and these regulations change from time to time. Failure to follow prescribed regulatory guidelines could result in customer complaints and regulatory sanctions.

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In addition, regulators are continuously examining certain aspects of our industry. For example, a number of public utility commissions in the northeast are investigating the impact of the harsh weather conditions during the 2013-2014 winter season on consumers in their territories due to the number of consumer complaints attributable to high bills for the winter season and are urging FERC to investigate circumstances during that period in wholesale energy markets. To the extent any of these commissions takes regulatory action to address these complaints, such as imposing limits on products, services, rates or other business limitations, our business prospects in the region could be materially adversely affected.

In addition, door-to-door marketing and outbound telemarketing are a significant part of our marketing efforts. Each of these channels is continually under scrutiny by state and federal regulators and legislators. Additional regulation or restriction of these marketing practices could negatively impact our customer acquisition plan, and therefore our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

Our business is dependent on retaining licenses in the markets in which we operate.

We generally must apply to the relevant state utility commission to become a retail marketer of natural gas and/or electricity in the markets that we serve. Approval by the state regulatory body is subject to our understanding of and compliance with various federal, state and local regulations that govern the activities of retail marketers. If we fail to comply with any of these regulations, we could suffer certain consequences, which may include:

In addition, FERC regulates the sale of wholesale electricity by requiring us and other companies who sell into the wholesale market to obtain market-based rate authority. If that authority were revoked, our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock could be materially adversely affected.

Our business model is dependent on continuing to be licensed in existing markets. If we have a license revoked or are not granted renewal of a license, or if our license is adversely conditioned or modified (e.g., by increased bond posting obligations), our financial results could be materially negatively impacted, which could materially negatively impact our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

Our financial results will fluctuate on a seasonal and quarterly basis.

Our overall operating results fluctuate substantially on a seasonal basis depending on: (1) the geographic mix of our customer base; (2) the concentration of our product mix; (3) the impact of weather conditions on commodity pricing and demand, (4) variability in market prices for natural gas and electricity, and (5) changes in the cost of delivery of such commodities through energy delivery networks. These factors can have material short-term impacts on monthly and quarterly operating results, which may be misleading when considered outside of the context of our annual operating cycle. In addition, our accounts payable and accounts receivable are impacted by seasonality due to the timing differences between when we pay our suppliers for accounts payable versus when we collect from our customers on accounts receivable. We typically pay our suppliers for purchases on a monthly basis. However, it takes approximately two months from the time we deliver the electricity or natural gas to our customers before we collect from our customers on accounts receivable attributable to those supplies. This timing difference could affect our cash flows, especially during peak cycles in the winter and summer months. Furthermore, as a result of the seasonality of our business, we may reserve a portion of our excess cash available for distribution in the first and fourth quarters in order to fund our second and third quarter distributions. Because of

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the seasonal nature of our business and operating results, it may be difficult for investors to accurately and adequately value our business based on our interim result, which could materially negatively impact our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

Pursuant to our cash dividend policy, we intend to distribute substantially all of our cash available for distribution through regular quarterly dividends, and our ability to grow and make acquisitions with cash on hand could be limited.

Pursuant to our cash dividend policy, we intend to distribute substantially all of our cash available for distribution through regular quarterly dividends to holders of our Class A common stock, as discussed in more detail in “Cash Dividend Policy.” As such, our growth may not be as fast as that of businesses that reinvest their available cash to expand ongoing operations. To the extent we issue additional equity securities in connection with any acquisitions or growth capital expenditures, the payment of dividends on these additional equity securities may increase the risk that we will be unable to maintain our per share dividend rate. We may also rely upon external financing sources, including the issuance of debt and equity securities and borrowings under our new revolving credit facility to fund our acquisitions and growth capital expenditures. The incurrence of bank borrowings or other debt to finance our growth strategy will result in increased interest expense and the imposition of additional or more restrictive covenants, which, in turn, may impact our ability to pay dividends to holders of our Class A common stock. We may decide not to pursue otherwise attractive acquisitions if the projected short-term cash flow from the acquisition or investment is not adequate to service the capital raised to fund the acquisition or investment, after giving effect to our available cash reserves. See “Cash Dividend Policy—General—Our Ability to Fund Our Quarterly Dividend and Reinvest Excess Cash Available for Distribution in Our Growth.”

We may have difficulty retaining our existing customers or obtaining a sufficient number of new customers.

As of May 31, 2014, approximately 59% of our natural gas customers had fixed-price contracts, and the remaining 41% of our natural gas customers had variable-price contracts. As of May 31, 2014, approximately 46% of our electricity customers had fixed-price contracts, and the remaining 54% of our electricity customers had variable-price contracts. A significant decrease in the retail price of natural gas or electricity may cause our customers to switch retail energy service providers during their contract terms to obtain more favorable prices. Although we generally have a right to collect a termination fee from each customer on a fixed-price contract who terminates their contract following such an event, we may not be able to collect the termination fees in full or at all. Our variable-price contracts typically may be terminated by our customers at any time without penalty.

Furthermore, significant ongoing competition exists for customers in the markets where we operate, and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to retain our existing customers or obtain a sufficient number of new customers. We anticipate that we will incur significant costs as we enter new markets and pursue customers by utilizing a variety of marketing methods. In order for us to recover these expenses, we must attract and retain these customers on economic terms and for extended periods. We cannot be certain that our future efforts to retain our customers or secure additional customers will generate sufficient gross margins for us to expand into additional markets or that we will be able to prevent customer attrition and attract new customers in existing markets. If our marketing strategy is not successful, our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock could be adversely affected.

We may experience strong competition from local regulated utilities and other competitors.

The markets in which we compete are highly competitive, and we may not be able to compete effectively, especially against established industry competitors and new entrants with greater financial resources. We expect

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significant competition from local regulated utilities or their retail affiliates and traditional and new retail energy providers with greater financial resources, well established brand names and/or large, existing installed customer bases. In most markets, our principal competitor may be the local regulated utility company or its affiliated retail arm. The local regulated utilities have the advantage of longstanding relationships with their customers, and they may have longer operating histories, better access to data, greater financial and other resources and greater name recognition in their markets than we do. Convincing customers to switch to a new company for the supply of a critical commodity such as natural gas or electricity is a challenge.

In certain markets, local regulated utilities may seek to decrease their tariffed retail rates to limit or to preclude opportunities for retail energy providers to acquire market share, and otherwise seek to establish rates, terms and conditions to the disadvantage of retail energy providers such that these retail energy providers cannot remain competitive in that market. Also, in states where the utility service rate is set through the procurement of energy over a period of months or years, the utility service rate will lag behind market conditions. If energy prices rise significantly above the utility service rate over a prolonged period of time, we may be forced to reduce our operating margins in order to price more competitively with the utility service rate and may experience increased customer attrition, as some customers may switch to the service offer from the utility.

In addition to competition from the local regulated utilities, we face competition from a number of other retail energy providers. We also may face competition from large corporations with similar billing and customer service capabilities, such as telecommunication service providers and nationally branded providers of consumer products and services that have a significant base of existing customers. Many of these competitors or potential competitors are larger than us and have access to more significant capital resources. For example, a larger competitor may be able to incur more costs to acquire customers if its cost of capital is lower than ours. Similarly, marketers with a larger presence in the relevant market or that have interruptible load as part of their customer base may benefit from synergies or scale economies that smaller marketers, or marketers serving only firm customers, cannot obtain. In addition, product offerings that provide a consumer with an alternative source of energy, such as a solar panel, may become more common and indirectly compete with us. If our marketing strategy is not successful, it may affect our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

The accounting method we use for our hedging activities results in volatility in our quarterly and annual financial results.

We enter into a variety of financial derivative and physical contracts to manage commodity price risk, and we use mark-to-market accounting to account for this hedging activity. Under the mark-to-market accounting method, changes in the fair value of our hedging instruments that are not qualifying or not designated as hedges under accounting rules are recognized immediately in earnings. As a result of this accounting treatment, changes in the forward prices of natural gas and electricity cause volatility in our quarterly and annual earnings, which we are unable to fully anticipate.

In addition to the volatility described above, we could incur volatility from quarter to quarter associated with gains and losses on settled hedges relating to natural gas held in inventory if we choose to hedge the summer-winter spread on our retail allocated storage capacity. We typically purchase natural gas inventory and store it from April to October for withdrawal from November through March. Since a portion of the inventory is used to satisfy delivery obligations to our fixed-price customers over the winter months, we hedge the associated price risk using derivative contracts. Any gains or losses associated with settled derivative contracts are reflected in the statement of operations as a component of cost of goods sold.

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Increased collateral requirements in connection with our supply activities may restrict our liquidity which could limit our ability to grow our business or pay dividends.

Our contractual agreements with certain local regulated utilities and our supplier counterparties require us to maintain restricted cash balances or letters of credit as collateral for credit risk or the performance risk associated with the future delivery of natural gas or electricity. These collateral requirements may increase as we grow our customer base. Collateral requirements will increase based on the volume or cost of the commodity we purchase in any given month and the amount of capacity or service contracted for with the local regulated utility. Significant changes in market prices also can result in fluctuations in the collateral that local regulated utilities or suppliers require. The effectiveness of our operations and future growth, and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock depend in part on the amount of cash and letters of credit available to enter into or maintain these contracts. The cost of these arrangements may be affected by changes in credit markets, such as interest rate spreads in the cost of financing between different levels of credit ratings. These liquidity requirements may be greater than we anticipate or are able to meet and therefore could limit our ability to grow our business or pay dividends to the holders of shares of our Class A common stock.

Our supply contracts expose us to counterparty credit risk.

We do not independently produce natural gas and electricity and depend upon third parties for our supply. If the counterparties to our supply contracts are unable to perform their obligations, we may suffer losses, including as a result of being unable to secure replacement supplies of natural gas or electricity on a timely and cost-effective basis or at all. If we cannot identify alternative supplies of natural gas or electricity, or secure natural gas or electricity in a timely fashion, our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock could be adversely affected.

We are subject to direct credit risk for certain customers who may fail to pay their bills as they become due.

We bear direct credit risk related to our customers located in markets that have not implemented POR programs as well as indirect credit risk in those POR markets that pass collection efforts along to us after a specified non-payment period. For the year ended December 31, 2013, customers in non-POR markets represented approximately 53% of our retail revenues. We generally have the ability to terminate contracts with customers in the event of non-payment, but in most states in which we operate we cannot disconnect their natural gas or electricity gas service. In POR markets where the local regulated utility has the ability to return non-paying customers to us after specified periods, we may realize a loss for one to two billing periods until we can terminate these customers’ contracts. We may also realize a loss on fixed-price customers in this scenario due to the fact that we will have already fully hedged the customer’s expected commodity usage for the life of the contract. Even if we terminate service to customers who fail to pay their bill, we remain liable to our suppliers of natural gas and electricity for the cost of those commodities. Furthermore, in the Texas market, we are responsible for billing the distribution charges for the local regulated utility and are at risk for these charges, in addition to the cost of the commodity, in the event customers fail to pay their bills. Changing economic factors, such as rising unemployment rates and energy prices also result in a higher risk of customers being unable to pay their bills when due.

The failure of our customers to pay their bills or our failure to maintain adequate billing and collection procedures could adversely affect our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

We are subject to credit, operational and financial risks related to certain local regulated utilities that provide billing services and guarantee the customer receivables for their markets.

In POR markets, we rely on the local regulated utility to purchase our customer accounts receivable and to perform timely and accurate billing. POR markets represented approximately 47% of our retail revenues for the

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year ended December 31, 2013. As our business grows, the portion of customers we serve in POR markets could increase. The bankruptcy of a local regulated utility could result in a default in such local regulated utility’s payment obligations to us, or efforts to reject contracts for service that they have with us if they believe there is a high value alternative opportunity.

In POR markets where local regulated utilities purchase our receivables and in certain other markets, local regulated utilities are responsible for billing services. Local regulated utilities that provide billing services rely on us for accurate and timely communication of contract rates and other information necessary for accurate billing to customers. The number of territories within which we provide natural gas and electricity supply poses a constant challenge that demands considerable management, personnel and information system resources. Each territory requires unique and often varied electronic data interface systems. Rules that govern the exchange of data may be changed by the local regulated utilities. In certain instances, we must rely on manual processes and procedures to communicate data to local regulated utilities for inclusion in customer bills. In addition, some utilities may experience difficulty in providing accurate, timely data when changing metering equipment ( e.g ., from manually-read to telemetry). Failure to provide accurate data to local regulated utilities on a timely basis could result in underpayment or nonpayment by our customers, and therefore adversely affect our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

Our indebtedness could adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations or pay dividends. It could also expose us to the risk of increased interest rates and limit our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry as well as impact our cash available for distribution.

In connection with the closing of the offering, we expect to enter into a new $70.0 million senior secured revolving credit facility, which we refer to as our new revolving credit facility. We expect to have approximately $10.0 million of indebtedness outstanding under our new revolving credit facility and approximately $15.0 million in issued letters of credit following this offering. Any debt we incur under our new revolving credit facility or otherwise could have important negative consequences on our financial condition, including:

Our new revolving credit facility will contain financial and other restrictive covenants that may limit our ability to return capital to stockholders or otherwise engage in activities that may be in our long-term best interests. Our inability to satisfy certain financial covenants could prevent us from paying cash dividends, and our failure to comply with those and other covenants could result in an event of default which, if not cured or waived, may entitle the lenders to demand repayment or enforce their security interests, which could negatively impact our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

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We depend on the accuracy of data in our billing systems. Inaccurate data could have a negative impact on our results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and reputation with customers and/or regulators.

We depend on the accuracy and timeliness of customer billing, collections and consumption information in our information systems. We rely on many internal and external sources for this information, including:

Inaccurate or untimely information, which may be outside of our direct control, could result in:

We may become liable for incorrectly calculating taxes, and certain of our charges may become uncollectable due to billing errors. Although customers are responsible for the payment of taxes related to the sales of natural gas and electricity, we estimate the amount of taxes they owe and invoice our customers through our billing process. We subsequently remit those taxes to the relevant taxing authorities. If we were to later determine that the amount we billed them for taxes was insufficient, we would not be able to recover the difference from them and would ultimately be responsible for those costs. Additionally, some of the markets in which we operate require us to bill customers within a specific period of time. If we do not bill our customer within that period of time, the customer may not be obligated to pay us.

Regulations in the restructured markets in which we operate require that meter reading be performed by the local regulated utility; and we are required to rely on the local regulated utility to provide us with our customers’ information regarding energy usage. Our inability to obtain this usage information or confirm information received from the utilities could negatively impact our billing systems and reputation with customers and, therefore, our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

Information management systems could prove unreliable.

We operate in a high volume business with an extensive array of data interchanges and market requirements. We are highly dependent on our information management systems to track, monitor and correct or otherwise verify a high volume of data to ensure the reported financial results and our forecasting efforts are accurate. Our information management systems are designed to help us forecast new customer enrollments and their energy requirements, which helps ensure that we are able to supply new customers estimated average energy requirements without exposing us to excessive commodity price risk.

We may be subject to disruptions in our information flow arising out of events beyond our control, such as natural disasters, epidemics, failures in hardware or software, power fluctuations, telecommunications and other similar disruptions. In addition, our information management systems may be vulnerable to computer viruses, incursions by intruders or hackers and cyber terrorists and other similar disruptions. The failure of our information management systems to perform as anticipated for any reason or any significant breach of security could disrupt our business and result in numerous adverse consequences, including reduced effectiveness and efficiency of our

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operations, inappropriate disclosure of confidential information and increased overhead costs, all of which could impact our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

We depend on local transportation and transmission facilities of third parties to supply our customers. Our financial results may be adversely impacted if transportation and transmission availability is limited or unreliable.

We depend on transportation and transmission facilities owned and operated by local regulated utilities and other energy companies to deliver the natural gas and electricity we sell to customers. Under the regulatory structures adopted in most jurisdictions, we are required to enter into agreements with regulated local regulated utilities for use of the local distribution systems and to establish functional data interfaces necessary to serve our customers. Any delay in the negotiation of such agreements or inability to enter into reasonable agreements could delay or negatively impact our ability to serve customers in those jurisdictions. Additionally, failure to coordinate upstream and downstream receipts and deliveries on an energy transportation network can result in significant penalties. Any of these factors could have an adverse impact on our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

We also depend on local regulated utilities for maintenance of the infrastructure through which we deliver natural gas and electricity to our customers. We are unable to control the level of service the utilities provide to our customers, including the timeliness and effectiveness of upkeep and repairs to infrastructure. Any infrastructure failure that interrupts or impairs delivery of electricity or natural gas to our customers could cause customer dissatisfaction, which could adversely affect our business. If transportation or transmission/distribution is disrupted, or if transportation or transmission/distribution capacity is inadequate, our ability to sell and deliver products may be hindered. Such disruptions could also hinder our providing electricity or natural gas to our customers and adversely impact our risk management policies, hedge contracts, our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

In addition, the power generation and transmission/distribution infrastructure in the United States is very complex. Maintaining reliability of the infrastructure requires appropriate oversight by regulatory agencies, careful planning and design, trained and skilled operators, sophisticated information technology and communication systems, ongoing monitoring and, where necessary, improvements to various components of the infrastructure, including with regard to security. Major electric power blackouts are possible, which could disrupt electrical service for extended periods of time to large geographic regions of the United States. If such a major blackout were to occur, we may be unable to deliver electricity to our customers in the affected region, which would have an adverse impact our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

The adoption of derivatives legislation by Congress will continue to have an adverse impact on our ability to hedge risks associated with our business.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Act”), enacted on July 21, 2010, established federal oversight and regulation of the over-the-counter derivatives market and entities, such as us, that participate in that market. Although we qualify for the end-user exception to the mandatory clearing requirements for swaps to hedge our commercial risks, the application of the mandatory clearing and trade execution requirements to other market participants, such as swap dealers, has changed the cost and availability of the swaps that we use for hedging. In addition, the Act requires that regulators establish margin rules for uncleared swaps. CFTC Rules that require end users to post initial or variation margin impact liquidity and reduce cash available to us.

The full impact of the Act and related regulatory requirements upon our business will not be known until the regulations are implemented and the market for derivatives contracts has adjusted. The Act and any new

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regulations could significantly increase the cost of derivative transactions, materially alter the terms of derivative contracts, reduce the availability of derivatives to protect against risks that we encounter, reduce our ability to monetize or restructure our existing derivative contracts or increase our exposure to less creditworthy counterparties. If we reduce our use of derivatives as a result of the Act and related regulations, our results of operations may become more volatile and our cash flows may be less predictable, which could adversely affect our ability to plan for and fund capital expenditures. Any of these consequences could have a material adverse effect our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

We may not be able to manage our growth successfully, which could strain our liquidity and other resources and lead to poor customer satisfaction with our services.

The growth of our operations will depend upon our ability to expand our customer base in our existing markets and to enter new markets in a timely manner at reasonable costs. As we expand our operations, we may encounter difficulties implementing new product offerings or integrating new customers and employees as well as any legacy systems of acquired entities.

We may experience difficulty managing the growth of a portfolio of customers that is diverse with respect to the types of service offerings, applicable market rules and the infrastructure for product delivery. We also may experience difficulty integrating an acquired company’s personnel and operations, or key personnel of the acquired company may decide not to work for us. Furthermore, if we acquire the residential or commercial businesses of an incumbent local regulated utility or other energy provider in a particular market, the customers of that business may not be under any obligation to use our services. These difficulties could disrupt our ongoing business, distract our management and employees, increase our expenses and adversely affect our cash flows.

Expanding our operations could result in increased liquidity needs to support working capital for the purchase of natural gas and electricity supply to meet our customers’ needs, for the credit requirements of forward physical supply and for generally higher operating expenses. Expanding our operations also may require continued development of our operating and financial controls and may place additional stress on our management and operational resources. If we are unable to manage our growth and development successfully, this could affect our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

Our success depends on key members of our management, the loss of whom could disrupt our business operations.

We depend on the continued employment and performance of key management personnel. A number of our senior executives have substantial experience in consumer and energy markets that have undergone regulatory restructuring and have extensive risk management and hedging expertise. We believe their experience is important to our continued success. We do not maintain key life insurance policies for our executive officers. If our key executives do not continue in their present roles and are not adequately replaced, our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock could be adversely affected.

We rely on a capable, well-trained workforce to operate effectively. Retention of employees with strong industry or operational knowledge is essential to our ongoing success.

Many of the employee positions within our customer operations, energy supply, information systems, pricing, marketing, risk management and finance functions require extensive industry, operational, regulatory or financial experience or skills that may not be easily replaced if an employee were to leave employment with us. While some normal employee turnover is expected, high turnover could strain our ability to manage our ongoing operations as well as inhibit organic and acquisition growth.

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We rely on a third party vendor for our customer billing and transactions platform which exposes us to third party performance risk.

We have outsourced our back office customer billing and transactions functions to a third party, and we rely heavily on the continued performance of that vendor under the outsourcing agreement. Failure of our vendor to operate in accordance with the terms of the outsourcing agreement or the vendor’s bankruptcy or other event that prevents it from performing under our outsourcing agreement could have a material adverse effect on our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

The failures or questionable activities of various local regulated utilities and other retail marketers within the markets that we serve adversely impact us.

A general positive perception on the part of customers and regulators of utilities and retail energy providers in general, and of us in particular, is essential for our continued growth and success. Questionable pricing, billing, collections, marketing or customer service practices on the part of any utility or retail marketer, or unsuccessful implementation of competitive energy programs can damage the reputation of all market participants, which could result in lower customer renewals and impact our ability to sign-on new customers. Any utility or retail marketer that defaults on its obligations to its customers, suppliers, lenders, hedge counterparties, or employees can have similar impacts on the retail energy industry as a whole and on our operations in particular. Any of these factors could affect our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

A large portion of our current customers are concentrated in a limited number of states, making us vulnerable to customer concentration risks.

As of May 31, 2014, approximately 86% of our customers were located in five states. Specifically, 29%, 28%, 13%, 11% and 5% of our customers were located in Illinois, California, Texas, New York and Pennsylvania, respectively. If we are unable to increase our market share across other competitive markets or enter into new competitive markets effectively, we may be subject to continued or greater customer concentration risk. In addition, if any of the states that contain a large percentage of our customers were to reverse regulatory restructuring or change the regulatory environment in a manner that causes us to be unable to economically operate in that state, our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock could be adversely affected.

Increases in state renewable portfolio standards or an increase in the cost of renewable energy credit and carbon offsets may adversely impact the price, availability and marketability of our products.

Pursuant to state renewable portfolio standards, we must purchase a specified amount of renewable energy credits, or RECs, based on the amount of electricity we sell in a state in a year. In addition, we have contracts with certain customers which require us to purchase RECs or carbon offsets. If a state increases its renewable portfolio standards, the demand for RECs within that state will increase and therefore the market price for RECs could increase. We attempt to forecast the price for the required RECs and carbon offsets at the end of each month and incorporate this forecast into our customer pricing models, but the price paid for RECs and carbon offsets may be higher than forecasted. We may be unable to fully pass the higher cost of RECs through to our customers, and increases in the price of RECs may decrease our results of operations and affect our ability to compete with other energy retailers that have not contracted with customers to purchase RECs or carbon offsets. Further, a price increase for RECs or carbon offsets may require us to decrease the renewable portion of our energy products, which may result in a loss of customers. A further reduction in benefits received by local regulated utilities from production tax credits in respect of renewable energy may adversely impact the availability to us, and marketability

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by us, of renewable energy under our brands. Accordingly, such decrease may result in reduced revenue and may negatively impact our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

The suppliers from which we purchase our natural gas and electricity are subject to environmental laws and regulations that impose extensive and increasingly stringent requirements on their operations.

The assets of the suppliers from which we purchase natural gas and electricity are subject to numerous and significant federal, state and local laws, including statutes, regulations, guidelines, policies, directives and other requirements governing or relating to, among other things: protection of wildlife, including threatened and endangered species; air emissions; discharges into water; water use; the storage, handling, use, transportation and distribution of dangerous goods and hazardous, residual and other regulated materials, such as chemicals; the prevention of releases of hazardous materials into the environment; the prevention, presence and remediation of hazardous materials in soil and groundwater, both on and offsite; land use and zoning matters; and workers’ health and safety matters. Environmental laws and regulations have generally become more stringent over time. Significant costs may be incurred for capital expenditures under environmental programs to keep the assets compliant with such environmental laws and regulations, which could have a material adverse impact on the businesses of our producers, which may increase the prices they charge us for natural gas and electricity and have a material adverse effect on our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

Technological improvements and changing consumer preferences could reduce demand and alter consumption patterns.

Technological improvements in energy efficiency could potentially reduce the overall demand for natural gas and electricity. Additionally, increased competitiveness of alternative energy sources or consumer preferences that alter fuel choices could potentially reduce the demand for natural gas and electricity. A prolonged decrease in demand for natural gas and electricity in the retail energy markets would adversely affect our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

We employ independent contractors to broker sales for which they receive residual commissions. The residual commissions paid to independent contractors could adversely affect our operating margins and financial performance, particularly if our costs rise and we do not adjust our pricing strategy.

Some of our independent contractors earn ongoing residual commissions. Residual commissions are calculated based on a fixed percentage of revenues attributable to a customer’s energy consumption, without regard to our wholesale supply costs. Should our supply costs rise, our operating margins, financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock could be adversely affected.

Our access to marketing channels may be contingent upon the viability of our telemarketing and door-to-door agreements with our vendors.

Our vendors are essential to our telemarketing and door-to-door sales activities. Our ability to increase revenues in the future will depend significantly on our access to high quality vendors. If we are unable to attract new vendors and retain existing vendors to achieve our marketing targets, our growth may be materially reduced. There can be no assurance that competitive conditions will allow these vendors and their independent contractors to continue to successfully sign up new customers. Further, if our products are not attractive to, or do not generate sufficient revenue for, our vendors, we may lose our existing relationships, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, revenues, results of operations and financial condition, as well as our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock. In addition, the decline in landlines reduces the number of potential customers that may be reached by our telemarketing efforts and as a result our telemarketing sales channel may

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become less viable, which may materially impact our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

Our vendors may expose us to risks.

We are subject to reputational risks that may arise from the actions of our vendors and their independent contractors that are wholly or partially beyond our control, such as violations of our marketing policies and procedures as well as any failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations. If our vendors engage in marketing practices that are not in compliance with local laws and regulations, we may be in breach of applicable laws and regulations which may result in regulatory proceeding, disadvantageous conditioning of our energy retailer license, or the revocation of our energy retailer license, which would materially impact our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock. In addition, the independent contractors of our vendors may consider us to be their employer and seek compensation.

Risks Related to the Offering and our Class A Common Stock

We expect to have shortfalls of cash available for distribution from operating cash flows in certain quarters during the four quarters following the closing of the offering, and we may not be able to continue paying our targeted quarterly dividend to the holders of our Class A common stock in the future.

The amount of our cash available for distribution principally depends upon the amount of cash we generate from our operations, which will fluctuate from quarter to quarter based on, among other things:

As a result of these and other factors, we cannot guarantee that we will have sufficient cash generated from operations to pay a specific level of cash dividends to holders of our Class A common stock.

Consistent with our forecast, due to the seasonality of our retail natural gas business, we expect to generate the substantial majority of our cash available for distribution in the first and fourth quarters of each year. In addition, we anticipate continuing to incur increased customer acquisition costs over the first nine months of 2014, which is consistent with our growth strategy. As a result of seasonality and our increased customer acquisition costs, we may not have sufficient cash available for distribution from the third quarter of 2014 to cover the pro-rated quarterly dividend for that period (calculated from the closing date of this offering through and including September 30, 2014). For a summary of historical unaudited pro forma cash available for distribution and estimated cash available for distribution, including pro forma historical and anticipated shortfalls, please read “Cash Dividend Policy” under “—Unaudited Pro Forma Cash Available for Distribution for the Year Ended December 31, 2013,” “—Estimated Cash Available for Distribution for the Twelve Months Ending June 30, 2015” and “—General Considerations and Risks—Cash Available for Distribution for the Third Quarter of 2014.”

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Furthermore, holders of our Class A common stock should be aware that the amount of cash available for distribution depends primarily on our cash flow, and is not solely a function of profitability, which is affected by non-cash items. We may incur other expenses or liabilities during a period that could significantly reduce or eliminate our cash available for distribution and, in turn, impair our ability to pay dividends to holders of our Class A common stock during the period. Because we are a holding company, our ability to pay dividends on our Class A common stock is limited by restrictions on the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other distributions to us. We will be entitled to pay cash dividends to the holders of the Class A common stock and Spark HoldCo will be entitled to make cash distributions to NuDevco and us so long as: (a) no default exists or would result from such a payment; (b) Spark HoldCo, SE and SEG are in pro forma compliance with all financial covenants before and after giving effect to such payment and (c) the outstanding amount of all loans and letters of credit does not exceed borrowing base limits. Finally, dividends to holders of our Class A common stock will be paid at the discretion of our board of directors. Our board of directors may decrease the level of or entirely discontinue payment of dividends. For a description of additional restrictions and factors that may affect our ability to pay cash dividends, please see “Cash Dividend Policy.”

The assumptions underlying the forecast presented elsewhere in this prospectus are inherently uncertain and subject to significant business, economic, financial, regulatory and competitive risks that could cause our actual cash available for dividends to differ materially from our forecast.

The forecast presented elsewhere in this prospectus is based on our current business operations and was prepared using assumptions that our management believes are reasonable. See “Cash Dividend Policy—Significant Forecast Assumptions.” These include assumptions regarding our customer acquisition strategy, the seasonality of our business, the effectiveness of our hedging program, our natural gas and electricity revenues, our operating costs and expenses, interest expense, our asset optimization activities, income tax expense and regulatory, industry and economic factors. The forecast assumes that no unexpected risks will materialize during the forecast period. Any one or more of these assumptions may prove to be incorrect, in which case our actual results of operations will be different from, and possibly materially worse than, those contemplated by the forecast. There can be no assurance that the assumptions underlying the forecast presented elsewhere in this prospectus will prove to be accurate. Actual results for the forecast period will likely vary from the forecasted results and those variations may be material. We make no representation that actual results achieved in the forecast period will be the same, in whole or in part, as those forecasted herein or that we will be able to pay dividends on our targeted levels or at all.

We are a holding company. Our sole material asset after completion of this offering will be our equity interest in Spark HoldCo and we are accordingly dependent upon distributions from Spark HoldCo to pay dividends, pay taxes, make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement and cover our corporate and other overhead expenses under the Spark HoldCo LLC Agreement.

We are a holding company and will have no material assets other than our equity interest in Spark HoldCo. Please see “Corporate Reorganization.” We have no independent means of generating revenue. The Spark HoldCo LLC Agreement provides, to the extent Spark HoldCo has available cash and is not prevented by restrictions in any of its credit agreements, for distributions pro rata to its unitholders, including us, such that we receive an amount of cash sufficient to pay the estimated taxes payable by us, the targeted quarterly dividend we intend to pay holders of our Class A common stock, and payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement we will enter into with Spark HoldCo, NuDevco Retail Holdings and NuDevco Retail. In addition, Spark HoldCo will pay for our corporate and other overhead expenses pursuant to the Spark HoldCo LLC Agreement. To the extent that we need funds and Spark HoldCo or its subsidiaries are restricted from making such distributions under applicable law or regulation or under the terms of their financing arrangements, or are otherwise unable to provide such funds, it could materially adversely affect our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

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Market interest rates may have an effect on the value of our Class A common stock.

One of the factors that will influence the price of shares of our Class A common stock will be the effective dividend yield of such shares (i.e., the yield as a percentage of the then market price of our shares) relative to market interest rates. An increase in market interest rates, which are currently at low levels relative to historical rates, may lead prospective purchasers of shares of our Class A common stock to expect a higher dividend yield, and our inability to increase our dividend as a result of an increase in borrowing costs, insufficient cash available for distribution or otherwise, could result in selling pressure on, and a decrease in the market price of, our Class A common stock as investors seek alternative investments with higher yield.

The initial public offering price of our Class A common stock may not be indicative of the market price of our Class A common stock after this offering. In addition, an active, liquid and orderly trading market for our Class A common stock may not develop or be maintained, and our stock price may be volatile.

Prior to this offering, our Class A common stock was not traded in any market. An active, liquid and orderly trading market for our Class A common stock may not develop or be maintained after this offering. Active, liquid and orderly trading markets usually result in less price volatility and more efficiency in carrying out investors’ purchase and sale orders. The market price of our Class A common stock could vary significantly as a result of a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control. In the event of a drop in the market price of our Class A common stock, you could lose a substantial part or all of your investment in our Class A common stock. The initial public offering price will be negotiated between us and the representatives of the underwriters, based on numerous factors which we discuss in “Underwriting,” and may not be indicative of the market price of our Class A common stock after this offering. Consequently, you may not be able to sell shares of our Class A common stock at prices equal to or greater than the price paid by you in this offering.

The following factors could affect our stock price:

The stock markets in general have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price of our Class A common stock. Securities class action litigation has often been instituted against companies following

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periods of volatility in the overall market and in the market price of a company’s securities. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could result in very substantial costs, divert our management’s attention and resources and negatively impact our financial results and our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

Our principal shareholder will collectively hold a substantial majority of the voting power of our common stock.

Holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters presented to our stockholders for their vote or approval, except as otherwise required by applicable law or our certificate of incorporation and bylaws. Upon completion of this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares), NuDevco will own all of our Class B common stock (representing     % of our combined voting power).

NuDevco is entitled to act separately in its own interest with respect to its investment in us. NuDevco will have the ability to elect all of the members of our board of directors, and thereby to control our management and affairs. In addition, NuDevco will be able to determine the outcome of all matters requiring shareholder approval, including mergers and other material transactions, and will be able to cause or prevent a change in the composition of our board of directors or a change in control of our company that could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their Class A common stock as part of a sale of our company. The existence of a significant shareholder may also have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers, delaying or preventing changes in control or changes in management, or limiting the ability of our other stockholders to approve transactions that they may deem to be in the best interests of our company.

So long as NuDevco continues to control a significant amount of our common stock, it will continue to be able to strongly influence all matters requiring shareholder approval, regardless of whether other stockholders believe that a potential transaction is in their own best interests. In any of these matters, the interests of NuDevco may differ or conflict with the interests of our other stockholders. Moreover, this concentration of stock ownership may also adversely affect the trading price of our Class A common stock to the extent investors perceive a disadvantage in owning stock of a company with a controlling shareholder.

We will be a “controlled company” under NASDAQ Global Market rules, and as such we are entitled to an exemption from certain corporate governance standards of the NASDAQ Global Market, and you may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the NASDAQ Global Market corporate governance requirements.

We will qualify as a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq Global Market corporate governance standards because NuDevco will control more than 50% of our voting power following this offering. Under NASDAQ Global Market rules, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, a group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including (i) the requirement that a majority of the board of directors consist of independent directors, (ii) the requirement to have a nominating/corporate governance committee composed entirely of independent directors and a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities, (iii) the requirement to have a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors and a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities and (iv) the requirement of an annual performance evaluation of the nominating/corporate governance and compensation committees.

In light of our status as a controlled company, our board of directors has determined to take partial advantage of the controlled company exemption. Our board of directors has determined not to have a nominating and corporate governance committee and that our compensation committee will not consist entirely of independent directors. As

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a result, non-independent directors may among other things, appoint future members of our board of directors, resolve corporate governance issues, establish salaries, incentives and other forms of compensation for officers and other employees and administer our incentive compensation and benefit plans.

Accordingly, in the future, you may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of NASDAQ Global Market corporate governance requirements. For a description of our expected corporate governance practices, please see “Management—Controlled Company.”

We have engaged in transactions with our affiliates and expect to do so in the future. The terms of such transactions and the resolution of any conflicts that may arise may not always be in our or our stockholders’ best interests.

We have engaged in transactions and expect to continue to engage in transactions with affiliated companies, as described under the caption “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.” We will continue to enter into back-to-back transactions for the sale of natural gas from an affiliate. We will also continue to pay certain expenses on behalf of several of our affiliates for which we will seek reimbursement. We will also continue to share our corporate headquarters with certain affiliates. We cannot assure that our affiliates will reimburse us for the costs we have incurred on their behalf or perform their obligations under any of these contracts.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, as well as Delaware law, contain provisions that could discourage acquisition bids or merger proposals, which may adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes our board of directors to issue preferred stock without shareholder approval. If our board of directors elects to issue preferred stock, it could be more difficult for a third party to acquire us.

In addition, some provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire control of us, even if the change of control would be beneficial to our stockholders. Among other things, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws will:

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In addition, in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, we have elected not to be subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) regulating corporate takeovers until the date on which W. Keith Maxwell III no longer beneficially owns in the aggregate more than fifteen percent of the outstanding Class A common stock and Class B common stock. On and after such date, we will be subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL.

In addition, certain change of control events have the effect of accelerating the payment due under our Tax Receivable Agreement, which could be substantial and accordingly serve as a disincentive to a potential acquirer of our company. Please see “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Tax Receivable Agreement.”

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will designate the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or agents.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers, employees or agents to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against us or any director or officer or other employee of ours arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us or any director or officer or other employee of ours that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine, in each such case subject to such Court of Chancery having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants therein. Any person or

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entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock will be deemed to have notice of, and consented to, the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation described in the preceding sentence. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or agents, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and such persons. Alternatively, if a court were to find these provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Future sales of our Class A common stock in the public market could reduce our stock price, and any additional capital raised by us through the sale of equity or convertible securities may dilute your ownership in us.

Subject to certain limitations and exceptions, NuDevco may exchange its Spark HoldCo units (together with a corresponding number of shares of Class B common stock) for shares of Class A common stock (on a one-for-one basis, subject to conversion rate adjustments for stock splits, stock dividends and reclassification and other similar transactions) and then sell those shares of Class A common stock. Additionally, we may issue additional shares of Class A common stock or convertible securities in subsequent public offerings. After the completion of this offering, we will have                 outstanding shares of Class A common stock, and outstanding shares of Class B common stock. Following the completion of this offering, NuDevco will own                 shares of Class B common stock, representing approximately     % (or              shares of Class B common stock, representing approximately             % if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares is of our total outstanding common stock exercised in full). All such shares are restricted from immediate resale under the federal securities laws and are subject to the lock-up agreements between such parties and the underwriters described in “Underwriting,” but may be sold into the market in the future. We expect that NuDevco Retail Holdings and NuDevco Retail will each be party to a registration rights agreement with us that will require us to effect the registration of their shares in certain circumstances no earlier than the expiration of the lock-up period contained in the underwriting agreement entered into in connection with this offering. Employees will be subject to certain restrictions on the sale of their shares for 180 days after the date of this prospectus; however, after such period, and subject to compliance with the Securities Act or exemptions therefrom, these employees may sell such shares into the public market. See “Shares Eligible for Future Sale” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Registration Rights Agreement.”

In connection with this offering, we intend to file a registration statement with the SEC on Form S-8 providing for the registration of                 shares of our Class A common stock issued or reserved for issuance under our equity incentive plan. Subject to the satisfaction of vesting conditions and the expiration of lock-up agreements, shares registered under the registration statement on Form S-8 will be available for resale immediately in the public market without restriction.

We cannot predict the size of future issuances of our Class A common stock or securities convertible into Class A common stock or the effect, if any, that future issuances or sales of shares of our Class A common stock will have on the market price of our Class A common stock. Sales of substantial amounts of our Class A common stock (including shares issued in connection with an acquisition), or the perception that such sales could occur, may adversely affect prevailing market prices of our Class A common stock. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation allows us to issue up to an additional                 shares of equity securities, including securities ranking senior to our Class A common stock.

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The underwriters of this offering may waive or release parties to the lock-up agreements entered into in connection with this offering, which could adversely affect the price of our Class A common stock.

Our directors and executive officers have entered into lock-up agreements with respect to their Class A common stock, pursuant to which they are subject to certain resale restrictions for a period of 180 days following the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Please see “Underwriting.” Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated at any time and without notice, may release all or any portion of the Class A common stock subject to the foregoing lock-up agreements. If the restrictions under the lock-up agreements are waived, then Class A common stock will be available for sale into the public markets, which could cause the market price of our Class A common stock to decline and impair our ability to raise capital.

We will be required to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement for certain tax benefits we may claim, and the amounts of such payments could be significant.

We will enter into a Tax Receivable Agreement with Spark HoldCo, NuDevco Retail Holdings and NuDevco Retail. This agreement will generally provide for the payment by us to NuDevco of 85% of the net cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize (or are deemed to realize in certain circumstances) in periods after this offering as a result of (i) any tax basis increase resulting from the purchase by Spark Energy, Inc. of Spark HoldCo units from NuDevco Retail Holdings prior to or in connection with this offering, (ii) any tax basis increases resulting from the exchange of Spark HoldCo units for shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the Exchange Right (or resulting from an exchange of Spark HoldCo units for cash pursuant to the Cash Option) and (iii) imputed interest deemed to be paid by us as a result of, and additional tax basis arising from, any payments we make under the Tax Receivable Agreement. In addition, payments we make under the Tax Receivable Agreement will be increased by any interest accrued from the due date (without extensions) of the corresponding tax return.

Spark Energy, Inc. may be required to defer or partially defer any payment due to holders of rights under the Tax Receivable Agreement in certain circumstances during the five-year period commencing on October 1, 2014. Following the expiration of the five-year deferral period, Spark Energy, Inc. will be obligated to pay any outstanding deferred TRA Payments. While this payment obligation is subject to certain limitations described elsewhere in this prospectus, the obligation may nevertheless be significant and could adversely affect our liquidity and ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Tax Receivable Agreement.”

The payment obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement are our obligations and not obligations of Spark HoldCo. For purposes of the Tax Receivable Agreement, cash savings in tax generally are calculated by comparing our actual tax liability to the amount we would have been required to pay had we not been able to utilize any of the tax benefits subject to the Tax Receivable Agreement. The term of the Tax Receivable Agreement will commence upon the completion of this offering and will continue until all such tax benefits have been utilized or expired, unless we exercise our right to terminate the Tax Receivable Agreement by making the termination payment specified in the agreement.

The actual increase in tax basis, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including the timing of the exchanges of Spark HoldCo units, the price of Class A common stock at the time of each exchange, the extent to which such exchanges are taxable, the amount and timing of the taxable income we generate in the future and the tax rate then applicable, and the portion of our payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement constituting imputed interest or depletable, depreciable or amortizable basis. We expect that the payments that we will be required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement could be substantial.

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The payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement will not be conditioned upon a holder of rights under the Tax Receivable Agreement having a continued ownership interest in either Spark HoldCo or us. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Tax Receivable Agreement.”

In certain cases, payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement may be accelerated and/or significantly exceed the actual benefits, if any, we realize in respect of the tax attributes subject to the Tax Receivable Agreement.

If we elect to terminate the Tax Receivable Agreement early or it is terminated early due to certain mergers or other changes of control, we would be required to make an immediate payment equal to the present value of the anticipated future tax benefits subject to the Tax Receivable Agreement, which calculation of anticipated future tax benefits will be based upon certain assumptions and deemed events set forth in the Tax Receivable Agreement, including the assumption that we have sufficient taxable income to fully utilize such benefits and that any Spark HoldCo units that NuDevco or its permitted transferees own on the termination date are deemed to be exchanged on the termination date. Any early termination payment may be made significantly in advance of the actual realization, if any, of such future benefits.

In these situations, our obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement could have a substantial negative impact on our liquidity and could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing certain mergers, asset sales, other forms of business combinations or other changes of control due to the additional transaction cost a potential acquirer may attribute to satisfying such obligations. For example, if the Tax Receivable Agreement were terminated immediately after this offering, the estimated termination payment would be approximately $73.8 million (calculated using a discount rate equal to the LIBOR, plus 200 basis points). The foregoing number is merely an estimate and the actual payment could differ materially. There can be no assurance that we will be able to finance our obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement.

Payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement will be based on the tax reporting positions that we will determine. The holders of rights under the Tax Receivable Agreement will not reimburse us for any payments previously made under the Tax Receivable Agreement if such basis increases or other benefits are subsequently disallowed, except that excess payments made to any such holder will be netted against payments otherwise to be made, if any, to such holder after our determination of such excess. As a result, in such circumstances, we could make payments that are greater than our actual cash tax savings, if any, and may not be able to recoup those payments, which could adversely affect our liquidity.

We may issue preferred stock whose terms could adversely affect the voting power or value of our Class A common stock.

Our certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue, without the approval of our stockholders, one or more classes or series of preferred stock having such designations, preferences, limitations and relative rights, including preferences over our Class A common stock respecting dividends and distributions, as our board of directors may determine. The terms of one or more classes or series of preferred stock could adversely impact the voting power or value of our Class A common stock. For example, we might grant holders of preferred stock the right to elect some number of our directors in all events or on the happening of specified events or the right to veto specified transactions. Similarly, the repurchase or redemption rights or liquidation preferences we might assign to holders of preferred stock could affect the residual value of the Class A common stock.

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We will incur increased costs as a result of being a public company.

As a publicly traded company with listed equity securities, we will need to comply with new laws, regulations and requirements, including corporate governance provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and rules and regulations of the SEC and the NASDAQ. Additional or new regulatory requirements may be adopted in the future. The requirements of existing and potential future rules and regulations will increase our legal, accounting and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and may also place undue strain on our personnel, systems and resources, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and ability to pay dividends to the holders of our Class A common stock.

For as long as we are an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with certain reporting requirements, including those relating to accounting standards and disclosure about our executive compensation, that apply to other public companies.

In April 2012, President Obama signed into law the JOBS Act. We are classified as an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act. For as long as we are an emerging growth company, which may be up to five full fiscal years, unlike other public companies, we will not be required to, among other things, (i) provide an auditor’s attestation report on management’s assessment of the effectiveness of our system of internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (ii) comply with any new requirements adopted by the PCAOB requiring mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report in which the auditor would be required to provide additional information about the audit and the financial statements of the issuer, (iii) provide certain disclosure regarding executive compensation required of larger public companies or (iv) hold nonbinding advisory votes on executive compensation. We will remain an emerging growth company for up to five years, although we will lose that status sooner if we have more than $1.0 billion of revenues in a fiscal year, have more than $700 million in market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates, or issue more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt over a three-year period.

To the extent that we rely on any of the exemptions available to emerging growth companies, you will receive less information about our executive compensation and internal control over financial reporting than issuers that are not emerging growth companies. If some investors find our common stock to be less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.

As a result of becoming a public company, we will be obligated to design and operate proper and effective internal control over financial reporting and to report our financial results in a timely fashion. If our internal control over financial reporting is determined to be ineffective or we fail to meet financial reporting deadlines, investor confidence in our company, and our Class A common stock price, may be adversely affected.

We are not currently required to comply with the SEC’s rules that implement Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and are therefore not yet required to make a formal assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting for that purpose. Upon becoming a public company, we will however be required to comply with certain of these rules, which will require management to certify financial and other information in our quarterly and annual reports and provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting commencing with our second annual report. This assessment will need to include the disclosure of any material weakness in internal control over financial reporting identified by our management and our independent registered public accounting firm. A “material weakness” is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Also, as a private company, we have not previously been required to prepare quarterly financial statements, nor

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have we been required to generate financial statements in the time frames mandated for public companies by the Commission’s reporting requirements. We are currently evaluating our internal control over financial reporting for purposes of complying with our obligations as a public company.