C.N.  Brown, which owns a diverse portfolio of energy products, including gasoline, heating oil, propane, wood pellets, natural gas, and convenience stores, is offering electricityC.N. Brown operates 78 Big Apple food stores, 27 Red Shield Heating Oil locations and 20 gasoline service stations. The company has been buying electricity for its retail locations for roughly eight years and began offering electricity to its employees last fall. C.N. Brown plans to offer a five-cent cash discount on heating oil this winter to customers who sign up to buy electricity from the company.In the Central Main Power region, C.N. Brown Electricity is currently offering a rate of 6.81 cents per kilowatt hour, while the current default offer rate per kilowatt hour for small customers 7.43 cents. In addition to lower rates, at the end of January the company is launching a loyalty program linking use of their gas stations with electricity discounts.Thanks to these new suppliers and the abundance of clean American natural gas, large numbers of Mainers are turning to competitive providers to lower their electricity bill.