About Jason Taken and Jaken Energy

Who runs this site

Jason Taken founded Jaken Energy, the commercial energy procurement practice behind this site. After reviewing enough operating statements from facility owners, one pattern kept showing up: electricity is a large, often unmanaged line item, and in deregulated states it does not have to be.

Utilities are one of the few expenses on a cannabis P&L that an owner can renegotiate without touching headcount or product quality. That is what Jaken Energy focuses on.

Why cannabis

Cannabis cultivation is one of the most electricity-intensive businesses per square foot in any state's economy. Sealed rooms run lights, air conditioning, and dehumidifiers at the same time, all day, all year. Extraction labs run chillers and ovens. Dispensaries are small but often sit on the wrong utility rate class because nobody reviewed it after the buildout.

On top of that, Section 280E of the federal tax code denies most cannabis businesses ordinary deductions, which makes every cost of goods sold dollar worth more than it would be in another industry. Lower the power bill and the savings fall straight to the bottom line.

Sixteen states and Washington, D.C. combine a licensed cannabis market with commercial electricity choice. That overlap is where Jaken Energy works.

How we work

• We start with the bill, not a pitch. A recent bill and a little interval data tell us your rate class, supply price, and demand profile. The review is free.
• We tell you when there is nothing to gain. If your existing contract is competitive or your utility's default rate is the best deal available, we say so and leave you alone.
• We disclose how we are paid. Supplier-paid fees are written into the contract you sign. Nothing is hidden in the rate.
• We do not give legal or tax advice. We describe how the rules work and point you to your public utility commission, cannabis regulator, and your own advisors for decisions that depend on them.

About the content on this site

Every page here is written to be useful whether or not you ever contact us. Facts are cited to primary sources: the U.S. Energy Information Administration, state public utility commissions, state cannabis regulators, utility tariffs, NOAA, and program administrators. State pages carry a "last verified" date because these rules change, and we refresh them on a schedule.

Case studies labeled as representative examples are built from published tariffs and typical facility profiles, not from named clients. We would rather show you the math than a testimonial.

If you find an error, tell us through the get-started form and we will fix it.

What Jaken Energy is not

We are not a utility, a power generator, or a retail electric supplier. We do not sell kilowatt-hours under our own name. We do not mark up delivery charges. We do not install solar, LED fixtures, or HVAC equipment, though we can point you to qualified contractors and rebate programs when efficiency is part of the plan.

We are also not lawyers or accountants. Pages on this site describe how regulators and tariffs work. They do not tell you how to structure an entity, claim a tax credit, or interpret Section 280E for your specific return. When a page touches tax or legal status, it says so plainly and sends you to your own advisors.

That separation keeps the advice honest. A broker who also sells equipment has an incentive to recommend capital projects. A broker who also sells supply has an incentive to push contracts. Jaken Energy's fee, when there is one, comes from the supplier you choose after you see the numbers.

The problem this practice was built to solve

Most cannabis operators treat electricity like rent: pay the bill, move on. That made sense when rates were smaller relative to revenue and when wholesale flower prices were higher. It makes less sense now.

Energy intensity for indoor cultivation is extreme. Lighting, mechanical cooling, and dehumidification run together for long hours. A single billing interval can set a demand charge that exceeds a week of energy use. Extraction adds chillers and ovens. Dispensaries look small on kWh but often sit on retail rate classes with poor demand thresholds.

Federal tax rules deny most cannabis businesses ordinary business deductions under Section 280E. Operating costs that cannot be deducted hit net income harder than in any other industry at the same gross margin. Electricity is one of the few large costs an owner can attack without changing genetics, labor, or compliance posture.

Deregulation adds opportunity and confusion. Sixteen states plus Washington, D.C. combine licensed cannabis with commercial supply choice. Each has its own regulator name, default rate label, enrollment rules, and cap quirks. Operators who learn one state from a conference talk often apply the wrong mental model when they expand.

Jason Taken started Jaken Energy after seeing the same story on repeat: strong operators, solid product, electricity line bleeding margin because nobody had ever put the supply contract or rate class out to bid.

How a typical engagement runs

Every relationship starts with documents, not a slide deck.

You send recent utility bills and, when available, interval data or an existing supply contract. We read rate class, supply price, demand history, and riders. We benchmark supply against current competitive offers in your utility territory. We check whether your delivery class still matches your load.

Within a business day you get a plain-language answer: clear opportunity, needs more data, or you are in good shape. If there is nothing to gain, we say that and stop. We do not nurture leads for sport.

When supply shopping makes sense, we request pricing from licensed suppliers with your permission. We normalize offers so a fixed price in one column means the same thing as a fixed price in another. We walk through contract language before you sign: pass-throughs, bandwidth, early termination, renewal.

After enrollment we track the contract calendar and wholesale market signals that affect your next renewal. Expansion, new rooms, or a second site trigger a fresh look at load forecasts and bandwidth clauses.

The full step-by-step is on how it works. Compensation is covered on how energy brokers get paid.

State coverage and why it is limited

CannabisEnergyBroker publishes deep guides for seventeen jurisdictions: Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Delaware, Washington D.C., Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, California, Nevada, and Texas.

Each qualifies on two tests: a state-regulated cannabis program and practical commercial electricity choice for most non-residential accounts in that state. We do not list a state because cannabis is legal there if customers cannot shop supply. We do not list a state because choice exists if cannabis is not licensed at the state level.

Territory exceptions matter inside a state. Illinois choice covers ComEd and Ameren Illinois footprints; co-ops and munis may differ. California offers direct access for some large loads but not a classic retail market for every cultivator. Michigan caps competitive load statewide. State hub pages document these quirks with a last verified date.

If you operate outside our published set, the site still has learn articles and tools that apply anywhere in the U.S. The state deregulation eligibility checker tells you whether we can help with procurement in your jurisdiction today.

Editorial standards on this site

Facts about rates, counts, dates, and statutes carry inline citations and matching source entries in frontmatter. We use primary sources: EIA, state PUC and PSC sites, cannabis regulators, utility tariffs, DSIRE, NOAA, ISO and RTO publications. Trade press appears only for industry practice benchmarks, clearly labeled.

Worked examples label their assumptions. We do not invent client testimonials. Case studies marked illustrative are built from public tariffs and typical load profiles unless Jason supplies a real engagement.

Pages are refreshed on a schedule. State and rate content carries a last verified field. When rules change, we update the data file and the prose together so numbers do not drift from the narrative.

Similarity between state pages is kept below script thresholds by starting from each state's JSON data: different rates, ISO, climate, utilities, and program notes produce different examples and advice. You should not see the same paragraph on a Connecticut page and a Maine page.

Questions we hear from operators and CFOs

"Are you allowed to work with cannabis companies?" Yes, in the states we cover. Energy brokering is legal for licensed operators where retail choice exists. Supply contracts are between you and a licensed supplier; the utility keeps delivery. See is energy brokering legal for cannabis companies for the full answer.

"Why use a broker instead of calling suppliers myself?" You can call suppliers directly. A broker aggregates bids, normalizes pass-through language, and compares offers against your default rate on equal terms. Read energy broker vs. direct supplier for when each path fits.

"Do you charge cannabis businesses extra?" No. Supplier-paid fees are standard across commercial customers in choice markets. The rate is disclosed in the contract. Details are on do energy brokers charge cannabis businesses extra.

"What if I am mid-contract?" Send the contract anyway. We note end dates, notice windows, and auto-renew clauses so you are not rolled into a bad rate by default.

Get in touch

Use the contact page or the get started form for bill reviews, content corrections, or media inquiries. We respond to factual errors on any page as a priority.