TransAlta has transformed itself from one of Canada's largest electric utilities into a global independent power producer with assets in Australia, Canada, and the US. The company has about about 8,990 MW of operational generating capacity. It trades and markets electricity and gas in Canada and the US. Most of TransAlta's generating capacity is coal-fired; the rest comes from gas-fired, hydroelectric, and alternative-energy plants. TransAlta has sold its regulated distribution and transmission businesses to focus on power generation and marketing, primarily to industrial and wholesale customers. The company has more than 80 power plants in Australia, Canada, and the US.

PPL packs a powerful punch in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and the UK, where it distributes electricity to 5.2 million customers through regulated subsidiaries PPL Electric Utilities (1.4 million customers), two utilities in Kentucky (1.2 million), and Western Power Distribution Holdings (2.6 million electricity customers). The company has 19,000 MW of generating capacity and also sells energy wholesale in key US markets. Once a global power player with interests in distribution companies worldwide, the company has opted for the UK as its non-US focus. Western Power Distribution operates two of the 15 distribution networks providing electricity service in the UK -- WPD (South West) and WPD (South Wales).

Vectren intends to inundate Indiana and Ohio with energy. Through its utility subsidiaries (Indiana Gas Company, Southern Indiana Gas and Electric, and Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio), the company distributes natural gas to 995,000 business and residential customers in the two states. It also distributes electricity to 141,000 customers and has 1,425 MW of primarily coal-fired generating capacity in Indiana. Vectren's other nonregulated businesses include retail and wholesale energy marketing and management services, coal mining, synthetic fuels production, and utility infrastructure construction.

As Sgt. Joe Friday would say: "Just the facts, Ma'am." There are 88 cities in Los Angeles County, and Glendale Water & Power serves one of them. Glendale is the third-largest city in the county, with 200,000 people (about 100,000 foreign-born). Glendale has three hospitals, one health center, 30 parks, and six libraries. The utility generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to 88,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Glendale. The city-owned utility also provides water to 32,500 customers. Glendale Water & Power purchases water from as far away as 500 miles.

Companhia de Saneamento de Minas Gerais provides water supply (for about 12 million people) and sewage treatment services in more than 600 municipalities in the country's state of Minas Gerais. Founded in 1963, COPASA serves customers such as private companies, government agencies, and individuals. The government of Minas Gerais established the company under the name Companhia Mineira de Água e Esgotos in order to enforce the sanitation policy for the state. COPASA receives payment for its services in the form a tariff, which takes into account customers' consumption ranges, as well as inflation.

CH Energy Group powers New York state's Hudson Valley. Utility subsidiary Central Hudson Gas & Electric provides electricity to about 300,000 electric and 74,000 natural gas customers in eight counties located in Mid-Hudson River Valley, and delivers natural gas and electricity in a 2,600-square-mile service area that runs from New York City in the south, to Albany. Subsidiary CHEC oversees CH Energy Group's nonregulated businesses in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, including petroleum product distribution, alternative energy projects, and energy management services.

Integrys Energy Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a regulated electric and natural gas utility company in the United States and Canada. It provides natural gas utility services in Chicago, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. As of December 31, 2009, Integrys Energy Group, Inc. served approximately 1,669,000 residential, commercial and industrial, transportation, and other customers. It had approximately 22,000 miles of natural gas distribution mains; and approximately 1,010 miles of natural gas transmission mains. The company also generates and distributes electric energy form coal, natural gas, fuel oil, hydroelectric, and wind resources in Wisconsin and Michigan. It served approximately 489,000 residential, commercial and industrial, wholesale, and other customers. In addition, Integrys Energy offers nonregulated energy supply and services; and electric transmission services. Integrys Energy Group, Inc. was formerly known as WPS Resources Corporation and changed its name to Integrys Energy Group, Inc. in February 2007. Integrys Energy Group, Inc. was founded in 1883 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

Tohoku Electric Power Company, Inc. (Tohoku Electric Power) serves nearly five million residences and one million commercial and industrial customers in the Tohoku region, which comprises the seven northernmost prefectures of Japan's main island of Honshu. The region contains 20% of Japan's land and 10% of its population, but accounts for only 6% of its GNP. With its mountainous landscape and heavy winter snow, Tohoku has lagged behind the rest of Japan in terms of industrial development. The region is still largely rural and is known as Japan's furusato or country home. However, the city of Sendai in Miyagi prefecture has boomed in recent years to rival the southern Japanese centers. Tohoku's climate and the inaccessibility of many parts of the region has presented Tohoku Electric Power with special problems.

Macao Water Supply Co. Ltd,the utility supplies its customers with water from the West River's Modaomen Channel in Zhuhai City. Because of the high salinity content in the water (especially in the winter and spring months), Macao Water Supply uses a system of holding tanks and purification stations. Founded in 1932, the company is a subsidiary of Sino-French Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited (a joint venture of France-based water utility Ondeo Services and Hong Kong-based NWS Holdings Limited). As part of an ongoing maintenance strategy the company has replaced or repaired all of the distribution network that was in place in 1982.

Rayburn Country Electric Cooperative (Rayburn Electric) operates in the old stomping grounds of the legendary Texas politician and former speaker of the US House of Representatives. Rayburn Electric is a power generation and transmission organization that supplies wholesale power to five rural distribution cooperatives operating in 16 counties in north central and northeastern Texas. The five distribution cooperatives (Fannin County Electric Coop, FEC Electric Coop, Grayson-Collin Electric Coop, Lamar County Electric Coop, and Trinity Valley Electric Coop) collectively own the company. In 2010 it acquired a 25% stake in a Texas power plant from Calpine for $215 million.

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