Taiwan Power (Taipower) is looking to get by with a little help from its friends. With a generating capacity of more than 38,080 MW, the state-owned utility serves nearly 12 million industrial, commercial, and residential customers. Thermal sources (coal, oil, and liquefied natural gas) fuel most of Taipower's plants; nuclear energy and hydroelectric sources make up the balance. Unable to meet Taiwan's power needs on its own, the utility has opened its market to independent power producers, allowing companies to build power plants and sell to Taipower. Taipower has resumed construction on the nation's fourth nuclear plant. The Taiwan government has announced plans to privatize Taipower (it owned 97% in 2009).

Alabama Power powers up Southern Rockers and others in the heart of Dixie. The Southern Company subsidiary provides electricity to nearly 1.4 million residential and business customers in Alabama. The utility operates more than 91,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines, and it has nuclear, hydroelectric, and fossil-fueled power plant interests that give it a generating capacity of more than 12,200 MW. Alabama Power sells wholesale power to more than 15 municipal and rural distribution utilities; it also provides steam transmission (used for heating and cooling buildings) in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, and sells electric appliances (such as thermostats, ovens, and washing machines)

Ohio Pure Water distributes a wide range of water purification and treatment equipment to customers throughout the US. Its products include chlorination systems, water softeners, water filters, reverse-osmosis equipment, UV sterilizers, and drinking water systems. Other equipment includes flexible hose units, float switches and valves, PVC air injectors, and mineral tanks and parts. The company conducts most of its sales through its Web site. Ohio Pure Water was founded in 1996 by president C. K. Moore, a former maintenance superintendent for the State of Ohio.

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.

Ozark Mountains need power and Ozarks Electric Cooperative aims to deliver. The member-owned not-for-profit cooperative serves more than 62,000 customers in about a dozen counties spread across northwest Arkansas and northeast Oklahoma. Its 350 miles of line reach industrial, commercial, residential, and agricultural power users. Ozarks Electric provides its customers with energy audits and information on saving energy as well as energy efficient water heaters and surge protectors. It is a member of Touchstone Energy, a national alliance of electric cooperatives in nearly 40 states. The coop was formed in 1938.

Ormat Technologies is on an environmentally safe power trip, building geothermal as well as recovered energy power plants. Geothermal technology extracts hot water or steam that is vaporized and used to drive turbines. The fluid is then cooled and recycled back through the process, making it a clean and renewable energy source. Recovered energy utilizes heat produced in other industrial processes. The company, set up by Israel-based Ormat Industries, also sells power units for both types of plants, and sells fossil fuel powered turbo-generators with a capacity of between 400 watts and 4,000 watts. Ormat operates power plants (with a total of 518 MW of power) in Guatemala (2), Kenya, Nicaragua, and the US (10).

Edison has grown to become Italy's leading independent power producer, with 12,100 MW of hydroelectric, fossil-fueled, and wind-powered generating capacity. Much of Edison's electricity goes to Italy's largest utility, Enel; Edison also sells power to commercial and industrial businesses. The company has a focus on natural gas exploration, production, and marketing. It also distributes gas directly to 171,900 retail customers. In 2009 Edison reported proved reserves of 35.5 billion cu. meters of natural gas equivalent. The company is controlled by Transalpina di Energia Srl (61%) and Electricite de France (19%).

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.

The rural distribution cooperative operates nearly 5,300 miles of transmission and distribution lines. Adams-Columbia Electric was formed through the merger of Adams-Marquette Electric Cooperative and Columbus Rural Electric Cooperative in 1987. The utility expanded further through its 1992 acquisition of Waushara Electric Cooperative. The cooperative covers a 2,500 sq. ml. geographic service area.With a name that harkens back to Christopher Columbus and the Founding Fathers, Adams-Columbia Electric Cooperative provides power to more than 36,000 member-owners in 12 counties in central Wisconsin.

Not-for-profit holding company Glas Cymru owns Dwr Cymru Welsh Water, one of the largest regulated water and sewerage companies in the UK. Welsh Water distributes water and provides wastewater services to 1.3 million household customers and more than 100,00 business customers in Wales and England. It has a network of about 560 service reservoirs. The company supplies 850 million liters of drinking water daily through its 27,000-km network of water mains. Its sewer system includes 19,000-km of sewers and more than 800 wastewater-treatment works. Formed in 2000, Glas Cymru bought Welsh Water from Western Power Distribution in 2001. Western Power Distribution had acquired Hyder, Welsh Water's parent, in 2000.

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