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.

Pepco Energy Services continues to sail right along. The company provides electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental customers in deregulated areas (primarily the US eastern seaboard, Chicago, and Texas). The nonregulated energy supply company, a subsidiary of Pepco Holdings, offers services in energy management, energy-efficiency consulting, "green power" facilities development and construction, and equipment maintenance. It operates two power plants with a aggregate capacity of 790 MW. Pepco Energy Services also provides its customers the choice of sourcing power from green sources (from solar, wind, and biomass plants).

AEA Technology has hitched its wagon to the climate change star, focusing on government and private sector efforts to combat global warming, develop low-carbon processes, and monitor carbon and emissions trading. AEA Technology offers consulting, program management, and emergency response services for commercial, government, and industrial customers. Other areas of expertise include agriculture, health, business innovation, and transport. It is a major provider of advisory services to the UK government on climate change issues and technologies.

Catalytic Combustion Corporation clears the air -- literally and alliteratively. The company makes systems, processes, and products to help customers eliminate volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other pollutants in order to meet air-quality standards. Catalytic Combustion's catalysts -- substances that accelerate the rate of chemical reactions -- are used in a host of industries and products, ranging from appliances to graphic arts to nuclear power plants. The company makes catalysts from materials such as ceramics, metal foil, and wire mesh. Catalytic Combustion was founded in 1950.

Energy and Power Solutions (EPS) would like to help. The start up company, which promises up to a 25% energy savings using its methods, makes most of its money building on-site clean energy power plants. It also sells electrical and thermal power and operates power plants on behalf of its customers. But EPS touts its xChange Point energy monitoring software as the growth engine of the future. The software tracks energy use at the device, plant, and enterprise level in real time; EPS analysts use the data to recommend energy saving changes. The company, which filed to go public in 2010, has four customers using its products at more than 60 locations.

American States Water Company, through its subsidiaries, provides water, electric, and contracted services in the United States. The company engages in the purchase, production, distribution, and sale of water in California; and the distribution of electricity in San Bernardino Mountain communities. It distributes electricity in 1 electric customer service area and 3 water service regions operating within 75 communities in 10 counties in the state of California, as well as provides water service in 21 customer service areas. As of December 31, 2009, the company served 254,998 water customers and 23,234 electric customers, as well as served 13,406 customers in the town of Fountain Hills, Arizona and a portion of the City of Scottsdale, Arizona. It also offers water and/or wastewater services, including the operation, maintenance, renewal, and replacement of the water and/or wastewater systems. The company was founded in 1929 and is headquartered in San Dimas, California.

Detroit Edison generates and distributes electricity to 2.1 million customers in Michigan. The utility, a unit of regional power player DTE Energy, has more than 11,080 MW of generating capacity from its interests in nfossil-fueled, nuclear, and hydroelectric power plants. It operates more than 44,000 circuit miles of distribution lines and owns and operates about 680 distribution substations. Detroit Edison also sells excess power to wholesale customers and provides coal transportation services.

Wheelabrator Technologies is on a roll. A subsidiary of solid-waste processing giant Waste Management, the company operates municipal-waste incinerators and trash-to-steam plants that convert 7 million tons of municipal solid waste annually into energy. Wheelabrator operates 16 waste-to-energy plants that burn solid waste to produce high-pressure steam; that steam turns turbines, generating more than 800 MW of electricity -- enough to power more than 900,000 homes. It also has five independent power producers (IPPs) that combust a combination of trash, waste wood, tires, coal, and gas to generate another 200 MW of electricity. Wheelabrator operates in the northeastern US, California, Florida, and Washington.

Keeping a sharp eye out for the well-being of Iowa's citizens, Central Iowa Power Cooperative provides electricity transmission and generation services to 13 member distribution cooperatives (12 rural electric cooperatives and one municipal cooperative), which in turn serve about 320,000 residential and 7,000 industrial and commercial customers. Central Iowa Power's member distribution cooperatives deliver power to commercial businesses, farmsteads, industrial parks, manufacturers, urban residences, and other customers, in a service area that stretches 300 miles diagonally across the state from Shenandoah in the southwest to the Mississippi River in the east.

Connexus Energy connects more Minnesotans to electricity than any other cooperative. The member-operated organization distributes power to more than 123,000 customers in the northern suburbs of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Connexus buys its power from generation and transmission cooperative Great River Energy and distributes it through more than 9,050 miles of power line. It also operates 43 electrical substations. Residential customers account for the bulk of sales in a territory that comprises parts of Anoka, Chisago, Hennepin, Isanti, Ramsey, Sherburne, and Washington counties.

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