The Dakota Electric Association delivers electricity to residents of southeastern Minnesota, the Gopher State , so they don't have to burrow underground for those long, cold winters. The member-owned utility serves more than 100,000 customers in portions of Dakota, Goodhue, Rice, and Scott counties south of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The co-op gets its power wholesale from transmission cooperative Great River Energy and distributes it over 3,720 miles of power lines, nearly two-thirds of which are buried. Dakota Electric is pushing energy efficiency programs and products to help save its customers money.

Shikoku Electric Power, like the island it serves, is making bridges to new areas. One of 10 regional electric utilities licensed by the Japanese government to generate, transmit, and distribute power, Shikoku (known as Yonden in Japan) provides electricity to more than 4 million people in the four prefectures of Shikoku. The company has a generating capacity of more than 6,660 MW, primarily from nuclear and fossil-fueled plants; however, Shikoku is converting some of its oil-fueled plants to liquefied natural gas. Shikoku has expanded beyond its power utility business into activities such as Internet access, cable TV, remote monitoring and control systems, and rest homes for the elderly.

TransCanada Corporation operates as an energy infrastructure company in North America. The company operates in two segments, Pipelines and Energy. The Pipelines segment develops and operates energy infrastructure, including natural gas pipelines, regulated gas storage facilities, and projects related to oil pipelines. As of December 31, 2009, its pipelines network extended approximately 60,000 kilometers tapping into various gas supply basins in North America. The Energy segment engages in the acquisition, development, construction, ownership, and operation of electrical power generation plants; the purchase and marketing of electricity; the provision of electricity account services to energy and industrial customers; and the development, construction, ownership, and operation of non-regulated natural gas storage in Alberta. As of December 31, 2009, its power generation plants had 11,700 megawatts of power generation capacity. TransCanada Corporation was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

ENVIRON is looking to clean up financially while helping to clean up the environment. An international environmental consulting firm, ENVIRON specializes in assessing risk factors related to the presence of chemicals in the environment and in products such as food, drugs, medical devices, and consumer goods. The consulting firm also helps clients comply with various environmental regulations. The company operates through two practices: environmental sciences and energy services; and health sciences. ENVIRON maintains offices in 18 countries the US, Europe, and the Asia/Pacific region, and has completed projects in more than 70 countries.

New Braunfels Utilities is its namesake city's most powerful entity. The utility provides electric, water, and sewage services to New Braunfels, Texas, and nearby communities. Its electric system serves more than 28,200 customers via 700 miles of overhead and underground distribution lines. New Braunfels Utilities' water and sewer systems serve more than 21,600 water and almost 20,000 wastewater customers. The water system operates six groundwater wells over the Edwards Aquifer, as well as an 8 million gallon per day surface water plant on the Guadalupe River. New Braunfels Utilities' three wastewater treatment plants have a total daily capacity of 8.4 million gallons.

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) is prepared to serve an entire island nation. Founded in 1941, the government-owned utility is the sole electricity distributor for Puerto Rico, where it serves approximately 1.4 million residential and business customers. PREPA owns five primarily fossil-fueled power plants that give it nearly 5,800 MW of generating capacity, and it has more than 30,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines. In order to keep up with increasing demand, the Puerto Rican government has allowed independent power producers to build cogeneration plants on the island to sell power to PREPA.

Veolia Environmental Services, a part of Veolia Environnment (France), is a leader in waste management in the UK. Through its various companies, Veolia Environmental Services provides waste collection, recycling, disposal, and environmental cleansing services to the public and private sectors. It operates a network of landfill sites, material recycling facilities, transfer stations, civic amenity sites, and Energy from Waste incineration plants. The company serves more than 16 million customers in more than 100 Local Authorities and has been active in the UK since 1990.

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) doesn't want its name to be mud. One of the largest locally owned electric utilities in the US, SMUD serves about 592,000 residential and commercial customers in California's Sacramento and Placer counties. The utility generates half of its electricity (its 1,300-MW capacity is derived primarily from hydroelectric and cogeneration power plants) and buys the rest. SMUD also sells power to wholesale customers, and has one of the US's largest solar energy distribution systems. SMUD operates more than 10,200 miles of transmission and distibution lines across its 900-sq.-mi. service area.

JEA owns and operates an electric system with three generating plants and a fourth in the planning stages, and all transmission and distribution facilities including approximately 730 miles of transmission lines and 6,000 miles of distribution lines. JEA is also a joint owner with Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) in a third power plant, the St. Johns River Power Park (SJRPP), operated by JEA. SJRPP has a work force of over 350 employees and consists of two 624 net megawatt coal/petroleum coke-fired generating units. In addition, JEA is a joint owner with FPL of Unit 4 at Georgia Power Company’s coal-fired Plant Scherer. JEA owns a 200 net megawatt share of Unit 4. Finally, JEA produces 3.2 megawatts from a methane-fueled generating facility at the Girvin Road Landfill and 9.6 MW from Trail Ridge Landfill. A 12.6 MW solar project is coming online in 2010. JEA’s total generating capacity is approximately 3,050 megawatts.JEA's newest generating facility is Brandy Branch, located in west Jacksonville, home to three 170 megawatt combustion turbine units. These units are capable of operating on both natural gas and diesel fuel. Units1 and 2 went into commercial operation May 31, 2001, followed by Unit 3 on October 12, 2001.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which supplies power to a population of 44 million customers in Tokyo, Yokohama, and the rest of the Kanto region. One of the world's largest electric utilities, TEPCO's 190 power plants have the generating capacity of approximately 64,000 MW, primarily produced by thermal, nuclear, and hydroelectric power sources. Through interests in telecom businesses, the company offers telephony and Internet services; it also has international consulting and power generation operations. Other businesses include construction, real estate, and transportation companies. It also invests in independent power producers in other countries.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.