GAIL (India) Limited is no blowhard when it comes to turning energy into profits. The largest gas transmission and marketing company in India, GAIL owns more than 6,700 km of pipeline and has a 78% market share in India's natural gas transmission business. It has seven gas processing units and owns India's largest gas-based petrochemicals complex. In addition, GAIL has major domestic exploration and production operations. It also has a fiber-optic cable network of 13,000 km that provides bandwidth to telecommunications carriers. It is also involved in liquefied natural gas import projects. In 2010 GAIL (India) Limited expressed an interest in buying US shale assets. The government of India owns 57% of the company.

American Labelmark wants to take some of the danger out of hazardous materials. The firm's Labelmaster division sells books, training manuals, and protective equipment (such as steel salvage drums and spill kits) to companies that transport hazardous materials, helping them navigate the maze of government rules. It also makes labels and signage for hazardous materials and infectious waste transportation, along with labels concerning workplace safety and ergonomics. Its Reg-Trieve software division sells compliance materials on compact disks. American Labelmark also offers regulatory information online.

Staying true to its more-than-a-century-old watery origins, Turlock Irrigation District (TID) provides irrigation services to almost 6,000 farmers in its service area (150,000 acres of farmland). The company also provides electric generation, transmission, and distribution services to more than 98,000 retail customers in and around Turlock, California, and it sells power to wholesale customers. TID became a generator and distributor of electricity in 1923. The district provides electric service to its customer base in a 662-sq.-ml. service area encompassing portions of Merced, Stanislaus, and Tuolumne counties.

Southern Company isn't just whistling Dixie. The holding company is one of the largest electricity distributors in the US. It operates regulated utilities Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, and Mississippi Power, which combined have a generating capacity of more than 42,900 MW and serve more than 4.4 million electricity customers in the southeastern US. The good ol' power company also has energy marketing operations, and it provides energy consulting and management services for businesses and institutions. Through its Southern LINC Wireless unit, it provides wireless communications services in its US utility territory; its Southern Telecom unit offers wholesale fiber-optic services.

North Wind works to keep the air clean, the ground fresh, and the water clear in North America. The environmental consulting firm's services include site assessment, soil and groundwater remediation, geographic information system (GIS) data, hazardous and nonhazardous waste management, and project engineering and construction. North Wind has expanded by buying South Carolina-based Pinnacle Consulting Group, which offers engineering, environmental, and information technology consulting services.

Compressco Partners puts the pressure on before the natural gas and oil wells run dry. The company specializes in providing services to more than 400 natural gas and oil companies across 14 states to increase production and total recoverable reserves. The company offers compression, liquids separation, and gas metering services, as well as the GasJack units that perform these operations. It applies its services primarily to mature wells, but also on newer wells, which have declined in production. Compressco Partners, a subsidiary of TETRA Technologies, also provides well evaluations and well testing and monitoring services in Mexico.

Sometimes the sunshine state just isn't bright enough, and that's when Florida Power (doing business as Florida Power) really shines. The utility transmits and distributes electricity to 1.6 million customers and oversees more than 10,000 MW of generating capacity from interests in 14 nuclear and coal-, oil-, and gas-fired power plants. Additionally, Florida Power purchases about 20% of the energy it provides. The company is interconnected with 22 municipal power systems and with nine rural electric cooperative systems. Florida Power, a subsidiary of holding company Progress Energy, also sells wholesale power to other utilities and marketers.

ACEA S.p.A. municipal utility in Italy, it is also Italy's #1 water utility and a top electricity distributor. ACEA provides water to more than 7 million people and distributes power to more than 2.7 million homes and businesses in Rome and surrounding areas. In keeping with Europe-wide utility liberalization, the City of Rome has sold 49% of ACEA on the public market. The former monopoly has also built on Enel's Roman distribution assets, and through a joint venture with Electrabel, it has expanded into power generation, energy marketing, and natural gas distribution. ACEA also has international utility interests.

Public Utility District No. 1 of Clark County (Clark Public Utilities) provides utility services to residents and businesses in Clark County, Washington. Clark Public Utilities transmits and distributes electricity to more than 182,000 customers; the company generates about half of its power supply at its 250-MW gas-fired power plant and purchases the rest from other generators, including the Bonneville Power Administration. Clark Public Utilities also distributes water to about 30,000 customers and collects and treats wastewater for the City of La Center, Washington.

Portland General Electric (PGE) keeps many Birkenstock-shod feet warm: The company, formerly a subsidiary of Enron, generates, purchases, and distributes electricity to about 815,750 customers in Oregon. PGE's service territory covers 52 cities, including Portland and Salem. Its hydroelectric, coal-fired, and gas-fired plants had a generating capacity of more than 2,600 MW in 2009, and it purchased another 1,920 MW of generating capacity. PGE also markets wholesale electricity and natural gas to other utilities and marketers in the western US. In keeping with the "green" image of Portland residents, PGE leads the nation in residential customers who purchase power from renewable sources.

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