DTE Energy Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company in Michigan. It also involves in non-utility operations. The company’s Energy Utility segment engages in the generation, purchase, distribution, and sale of electricity in southeastern Michigan. It generates electricity from various fuels, including coal, as well as from nuclear and hydro facilitates. As of December 31, 2009, this segment owned and operated approximately 677 distribution substations and approximately 423,600 line transformers; and supplied electricity to 2.1 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers in southeastern Michigan. The company’s Gas Utility segment engages in the purchase, storage, transmission, distribution, and sale of natural gas in Michigan. As of December 31, 2009, this segment’s distribution system included approximately 19,000 miles of distribution mains, 1,177,000 service lines, and 1,312,000 active meters. It also owned approximately 2,100 miles of transmission lines that deliver natural gas; and supplied natural gas to approximately 1.2 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers throughout Michigan, as well as to approximately 17,000 customers in Adrian, Michigan. The company’s non-utility operations include natural gas pipelines and storage; unconventional gas exploration, development, and production; power and industrial projects, and coal transportation and marketing; and energy marketing and trading operations. Its customers include electric utilities, merchant power producers, integrated steel mills, and industrial companies. DTE Energy Company was founded in 1995 and is based in Detroit, Michigan.

Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc., an energy services company, distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and power generation customers in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. It also operates various energy-related businesses, including unregulated retail natural gas marketing, interstate natural gas storage, and intrastate natural gas transportation. As of October 31, 2009, the company served 952,469 retail customers and 61,000 customers served by municipalities. Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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.

Kansas Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. (KEPCo), headquartered at Topeka, Kansas, was incorporated in 1975 as a not-for-profit generation and transmission (G & T) cooperative. It is KEPCo's responsibility to procure an adequate and reliable power supply for its 19 distribution rural electric cooperative Members at a reasonable cost. Through their combined resources, KEPCo Members support a wide range of other services such as rural economic development, marketing and diversification opportunities, power requirement and engineering studies, and rate design, among others.KEPCo is governed by a Board of Trustees representing each of its 19 Members which collectively serve more than 110,000 electric meters in the eastern two-thirds of rural Kansas (see map). The KEPCo Board of Trustees meets regularly to establish policies and act on issues that often include recommendations from working committees of the Board and KEPCo staff.

Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water supplies water distribution and treatment services to commercial and residential customers. It serves a population of 436,300 in an area encompassing some 1,040 square kilometers. It operates 50 sites and has a 2,755-km network of water mains. The company also has nonregulated operations, including Aqua Care, which provides plumbing services and home emergency insurance. The utility is owned by Cascal BV, which itself is owned by UK water and wastewater treatment provider Biwater. The company was formed by the 1994 amalgamation of Bournemouth & District Water Co. and West Hampshire Water Co.

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.

Buckeye Power was established by Ohio's rural electric co-ops to produce and transmit electric power for member systems throughout the state. Buckeye Power, which owns two of the three generating units in the at Cardinal Generating Station, contracts with other Ohio electric companies to use their transmission systems to transmit power to its member electric distribution cooperatives.It has cost a few bucks to generate power, but the effort has been well worth it for Buckeye Power, an electricity generation and transmission cooperative that provides electricity to 24 distribution companies in Ohio and one in Michigan. Together they serve more than 390,000 homes and businesses in 77 of Ohio's 88 counties

China Hydroelectric Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, ownership, development, and operation of hydroelectric power projects in the People's Republic of China. The company sells electricity to the power grids. It owns 12 operating hydroelectric power projects, as well as has a controlling interest in 1 operating hydroelectric power project in the provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, Yunnan, and Sichuan. As of December 31, 2009, the company has an installed capacity of 376.6 MW. China Hydroelectric Corporation was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.

CMS Energy Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company primarily in Michigan. It operates in three segments: Electric Utility, Gas Utility, and Enterprises. The Electric Utility segment engages in the generation, purchase, distribution, and sale of electricity. The Gas Utility segment involves in the purchase, transmission, storage, distribution, and sale of natural gas. The Enterprises segment engages in independent power production and marketing. This segment owns power generation facilities fueled mostly by natural gas and biomass. At December 31, 2009, this segment had ownership interests in independent power plants totaling 1,202 gross Megawatt. The company serves individuals and companies operating in the alternative energy, automotive, chemical, metal, food products, and various other industries. As of December 31, 2009, it served 1.8 million electric customers and 1.7 million gas customers. The company was founded in 1987 and is based in Jackson, Michigan.

Avista Corporation, an energy company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of energy and energy-related businesses in the United States and Canada. The company operates through two segments, Avista Utilities and Advantage IQ. The Avista Utilities segment engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric energy primarily from hydroelectric and thermal sources. This segment also distributes natural gas to retail customers in parts of eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and parts of northeast and southwest Oregon, as well as engages in wholesale purchase and sale of electricity and natural gas. As of December 31, 2009, it provided retail electric service to approximately 356,000 customers; and retail natural gas service to approximately 316,000 customers. This segment offers electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The Advantage IQ segment provides utility expense management solutions to assess and manage utility costs and usage to multi-site companies in North America. It offers invoice processing, auditing and payment services, energy procurement, reporting, and advanced analysis, as well as provides analytical support, reporting, and consulting services. In addition, Avista’s other investments and operations include sheet metal fabrication of electronic enclosures, parts, and systems for the computer, telecom, renewable energy, and medical industries; real estate investments, primarily commercial office buildings; and investments in venture capital funds and low income housing. The company was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in Spokane, Washington.

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