Public Utility District No. 1 of Chelan County, Washington (or Chelan County PUD) provides power and water to residents of the county located in the middle of the Evergreen State. The utility operates three hydroelectric-generation facilities on or near the Columbia River that have a combined capacity of about 2,000 MW. About 30% of the district's electricity goes to its more than 47,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers; the rest is sold wholesale to other utilities operating in the northwestern US. Chelan County PUD also provides water and wastewater services to about 5,700 customers.

New York Independent System Operator (New York ISO). The company, which replaced the New York Power Pool, manages and monitors wholesale activities on the state's transmission grid, which consists of some 11,000 miles of high-voltage lines. The New York ISO is charged with providing fair access to the state's competitive wholesale power market (37,400 MW of generating capacity), while ensuring the reliable, efficient, and safe delivery of power to New York's more than 19 million residents. The not-for-profit company is governed by a 10-person board of directors.

Taiwan Power (Taipower) is looking to get by with a little help from its friends. With a generating capacity of more than 38,080 MW, the state-owned utility serves nearly 12 million industrial, commercial, and residential customers. Thermal sources (coal, oil, and liquefied natural gas) fuel most of Taipower's plants; nuclear energy and hydroelectric sources make up the balance. Unable to meet Taiwan's power needs on its own, the utility has opened its market to independent power producers, allowing companies to build power plants and sell to Taipower. Taipower has resumed construction on the nation's fourth nuclear plant. The Taiwan government has announced plans to privatize Taipower (it owned 97% in 2009).

Volunteer Energy Cooperative is voluntarily cooperating with its members to serve their energy needs. The distribution utility serves more than 108,000 customers (who also own the cooperative) in 17 central and eastern Tennessee counties. It operates more than 8,400 miles of power lines. Volunteer Energy purchases its power supply from the Tennessee Valley Authority. The company also sells propane and provides telecommunications (Internet access and long-distance phone) services. In addition, Volunteer Energy offers its customer surge protection and security equipment.

Northumbrian Water Group (NWG) provides water utility services in both northern and southern England. The company's primary subsidiary, Northumbrian Water Limited, provides water and wastewater services to 2.6 million people in North East England under the Northumbrian Water brand; it provides water to 1.8 million people in South East England, where it operates as Essex and Suffolk Water. NWG also controls a number of special purpose companies with contracts in Scotland, Ireland, and Gibraltar. The company's SA Agrer NV unit conducts project work in developing countries, The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan controls 26% of the company.

The Chugoku Electric Power Co. makes western Japan shine. The company generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to more than 5.2 million customers in the Chugoku region of western Japan. Approximately 89% of its customers are residential, and commercial and industrial customers account for the rest. The company's 110 power plants generate about 11,800 MW; traditional thermal plants generate about 65% of its power. Chugoku Electric intends to increase its use of nuclear power and is also researching alternative energy sources. In response to Japan's electricity market liberalization, the group is entering new business markets, including consulting, construction, fuel supply, and telecommunications.

Exelon Corporation company distributes electricity to 5.4 million customers in northern Illinois (including Chicago) and southeastern Pennsylvania (including Philadelphia) through subsidiaries Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) and PECO Energy. PECO also distributes natural gas to 485,000 customers. Subsidiary Exelon Generation holds the company's power plants, whose production capacity is just about 25,000 MW. About two-thirds of Generation's power is nuclear. Exelon Power Team is a top wholesale energy marketer, and Exelon Energy markets retail power and offers other energy-related services.

EVN spreads energy evenly across its territory in Lower Austria and beyond. The utility -- one of Austria's largest -- provides electricity, natural gas, heat, and related services. Outside its home borders, the company has gained control of electricity suppliers in Bulgaria and Macedonia, as these countries privatized their electricity industry. It is also marketing its environmental services (water, wastewater treatment, and waste incineration activities) around Europe. The company has built drinking water and wastewater treatment plants in Croatia, Poland, and Russia EVN has also put its waste-incineration know-how to good use and has a waste-to-energy plant in Moscow.

Global Energy is generating power outside of the box. The alternative energy company creates clean energy solutions using gasification technologies. Gasification and IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) facilities convert carbon fuel sources (including coal, petroleum coke (petcoke), and renewables) into environmentally cleaner energy sources like synthetic gas (SG) and synthetic natural gas (SNG). Through subsidiary Wabash River Energy, Global Energy owns and operates the Wabash River Plant (Indiana), one of only two IGCC facilities in the US. It also owns the Westfield Plant (Fife, Scotland) and is constructing a 540-MW IGCC facility in Lima, Ohio, expected to be operational by 2010.

Aqua-Pure Ventures has developed a patented wastewater distillation process used in wastewater recycling. Primarily used for industrial applications, Aqua-Pure's Clear Solutions system provides evaporation technology that can easily mix with other wastewater-treatment methods. Among its many uses, Clear Solutions may be applied for treating medical wastewater and for seawater desalination. In North America Aqua-Pure distributes the Salsnes Filter, used by municipalities and industrial companies for treating wastewater. This technology, developed by the Salsnes company in Norway, can be installed in new plants or mixed with technology already in use.

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