“There might be transfer of electromagnetic charge, but not necessarily mass transfer. Where mass transfer occurs, it is frequently associated with chemistry or even solid chemistry.”
So this e-microbe eats an electron. That would normally make said e-microbe more negative thus repelling it’s next snack. I suppose if the e-microbe’s biology included positrons, it could eat electrons and gain mass, but not much and only to the extent that it had positrons to spare.
And it still would require energy to run the process. Contrary to what the author might think, electrons are not energy.
If it can take in an electron at a higher energy state and excrete it at a lower energy state, charge balance is maintained.
It sounds like the organism lives as the electrolyte of a biologic battery.
Basically all organisms live by using the power of electrons in a higher state and excreting them in a lower state but the chemistry is occurring within the cell walls instead of outside.