NOCO back as Buffalo Sabres energy supplier

Noco Energy Corp. is reconnecting in a big way with the Buffalo Sabres.

The Tonawanda-based energy company is partnering with the team as its “Official Natural Gas and Electric Supplier,” and will be supplying natural gas and electric to the KeyBank Center, the LECOM Harborcenter and some other corporate buildings for team owners Terry and Kim Pegula through June 2026.

Noco, which has been in business since 1933, was the supplier of natural gas to KeyBank Center from 2015 to 2018. 

“As a third-generation family-owned and locally operated business, we take pride in supporting our hometown team,” said James D. Newman, Noco president.

“It is NOCO’s goal to partner with the most iconic Buffalo organizations and businesses, the Buffalo Sabres being one of the most recognizable,” added Gregory Wichlacz, Noco’s senior vice president of marketing and product development.

The company provides natural gas and other sustainable options to residential, commercial and industrial customers, including thousands of homes and businesses in the region and across the state. 

In 2019, it sold 33 of its convenience stores and a fuel terminal to Marathon Inc., and then, in an attempt to diversify its business, launched Noco Enterprises, focusing on business acquisitions and new market opportunities. Noco employs nearly 400 people.

The three-year deal brings Noco back as an energy supplier to the team, while adding the category partnership to the deal. Buffalo-headquartered New Wave Energy was among the latest companies to serve as the Sabres natural gas and electric supplier. That partnership began in 2012.

“Noco continues to evolve throughout Western New York as a community leader. We’re thrilled to welcome them back as our official natural gas and electric supplier,” said Joe Foy, vice president of business development with the Sabres.