Veolia Environnement holds water -- as well as waste management, energy, and transportation -- operations. The company's Veolia Eau unit, which provides water and wastewater services to more than 80 million people in more than 60 countries, is the world's largest water company, ahead of SUEZ Environnement. Veolia Environmental Services, one of the world's leading waste management companies, serves more than 70 million people a year. Majority-owned energy unit Dalkia (Veolia Energy Services) operates global cogeneration facilities and heating and cooling systems, and Veolia Transport (formerly Connex) is a top European provider of bus, light-rail, and rail transport and operates in about 30 countries.

Southern Californians soak up the sun, and the energy. The latter is where Southern California Public Power Authority comes in. The power authority generates and transmits electricity for 10 municipal distribution utilities and one irrigation district in southwestern California. Members include the municipal utilities of the cities Anaheim, Burbank, Colton, Glendale, Los Angeles, Pasadena, and Riverside. The authority has interests in three power plants and three transmission projects in the western US. It is constructing a fourth generation project. Southern California Public Power Authority also provides legislative representation and cost efficiency services to its members.

Anaheim Public Utilities,the municipal utility's power division serves residential, industrial, and commercial customers and has interests in fossil-fueled, nuclear, and alternative generation facilities. Its water division gets its supply from its water well system and from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Anaheim Public Utilities is the only municipal water and electric utility in Orange County.

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.

Duke Energy Indiana (formerly PSI Energy) brings a spark to the Hoosier state. One of Indiana's largest utilities, Duke Energy subsidiary Duke Energy Indiana transmits and distributes electricity to 69 of the state's 92 counties (approximately 780,000 customers). The utility also owns power plants (more than 6,730 MW of primarily fossil-fueled capacity), which are operated by its parent's merchant energy division. Duke Energy Indiana's service area covers about 22,000 sq. miles with an estimated population of 2.4 million. The company operates about 31,000 miles of distribution lines and a 5,400-mile transmission system. In 2010 Duke Energy Indiana appointed company veteran Doug Esamann as president.

ReliOn relies on its ability to produce hydrogen fuel cells in order to make money. The company claims to be the world's leading developer and marketer of modular, cartridge-based, proton exchange membrane fuel cell technology. ReliOn markets a range of stationary fuel cells for emergency and back up power systems, uninterruptible power supplies, digital power needs and a range of off grid power requirements. The company has sold and installed more than 2 MW of products with private and public entities in the energy, telecommunications, and transportation segments. Investors include Avista, Enterprise Partners Venture Capital, and Wall Street Technology Partners.

AES is one of the world's leading independent power producers. The company has interests in more than 120 generation facilities in about 30 countries throughout the Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East that give it a combined net generating capacity of 40,300 MW. AES sells electricity to utilities and other energy marketers through wholesale contracts or on the spot market. AES also sells power directly to customers worldwide through its interests in distribution utilities, mainly in Latin America. In 2009 the company had 1,900 MW of power plants under development in four countries.

ALLETE provides light to the northern climes. Most of its business is classified within its regulated operations, which include electric, gas, and water utilities located in northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin. Those operations are conducted through subsidiaries Minnesota Power (about 145,000 customers) and Superior Water, Light and Power (about 35,000 customers for its electric, gas, and water utilities). ALLETE's other segment includes coal mining operations, emerging technologies related to electric utilities, and a real estate business (large land tracts in Florida). Subsidiary BNI Coal operates a mine in North Dakota that supplies, primarily, two generating co-ops, Minnkota Power and Square Butte.

Pennon Group Plc South West Water subsidiary provides water and wastewater services to more than 1.6 million people (more during the summer tourism season) in England's South West region, including Devon, Cornwall, and parts of Dorset and Somerset. South West Water's Echo South West unit contracts to run customer service operations for utilities. Pennon subsidiary Viridor Waste -- one of the largest waste management businesses in the UK -- offers solid waste collection, landfill disposal, and recycling and other services.

The dryly named electric utility Electric Power Development Co. has a much more fun nickname -- J-POWER. With a generating capacity of 16,380 MW, the company supplies power used all over Japan. It has 67 hydroelectric plants, as well as some thermal and geothermal plants, and owns a transmission network that covers 2,400 km. J-POWER acts as a wholesale electric utility, selling to other electric power companies. Established by the Japanese government in 1952, J-POWER went through the privatization process, finally achieving full privatization and trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2004. The company is also sometimes referred to as EPDC.

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