San Antonio Water System provides water and wastewater services to 344,200 customers, or about 1 million people, in the San Antonio metropolitan area (including most of the city of San Antonio, several suburban municipalities, and adjacent parts of Bexar County). The utility is owned by the City of San Antonio. SAWS was formed in 1992 through a merger of three entities: the City Water Board, the City Wastewater Department, and the Alamo Water Conservation and Reuse District.

Viridian Group, through its main subsidiary, regulated regional electric company Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE), transmits and distributes power to about 793,000 homes and businesses in Northern Ireland. Its NIE Energy Supply unit is the regulated electricity supplier in Northern Ireland. Viridian is also involved in unregulated businesses, including retail power and natural gas marketing (Energia) and high-voltage electrical infrastructure contracting (Powerteam). It also participates in Ireland's electricity market through its Energia subsidiary, which deals in both retail and wholesale energy. In 2010 Irish power utility ESB Group acquired NIE from Viridian for $1 billion.

Energy Future Holdings (formerly TXU) has seen the future and it works -- powered by electricity. The company is the largest nonregulated retail electric provider in Texas (TXU Energy), with 2.1 million customers, and through its Luminant unit it has a generating capacity of more than 15,510 MW from its interests in nuclear and fossil-fueled power plants in the state. Energy Future Holdings has regulated power transmission and distribution operations through 80%-owned Oncor Electric Delivery. Oncor operates the largest regulated distribution and transmission system in Texas, providing power to more than 3.1 million electric delivery points over more than 117,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines.

Fortis wields power. The group has holdings in 10 companies, primarily regulated electricity and gas distributors, serving about 2 million customers. Its Terasen unit is the major natural gas distribution utility in British Columbia and serves approximately 940,000 customers. Newfoundland Power utility distributes electricity to 240,000 people, while Maritime Electric serves customers on Prince Edward Island. FortisOntario serves parts of Ontario, and FortisAlberta distributes electricity to 480,000 customers in Alberta. FortisBC generates, transmits, and distributes electricity in southern British Columbia. Fortis Generation operates hydroelectric plants, and Fortis Properties runs hotels in Canada.

Zodiac Marine and Pool (formerly Polaris Pool Systems) wants your backyard retreat to be sparkly clean, and your maritime sector to have access to the best in liferafts and inflatable boats. The swimming pool and spa maintenance division manufactures a wide range of automatic pool cleaners, automated chlorinators, and related accessories. The marine division makes inlflatable boats for recreational use and for the military, as well as a toilets, grease separators, marine incinerators, and other environmental equipment for the marine sector. Zodiac Marine and Pool, a Carlyle Group company, has operations throughout the US, as well as in Australia and in Europe.

Trans-Elect has elected itself as a cross-border power company. The independent transmission company owns and operates about 12,600 miles of high-voltage power lines in portions of Canada and the US. The company acts as a wholesale provider of electricity to distribution companies. It operates the former transmission assets of of US utility Consumers Energy; it is also part of an international consortium that operates the former transmission assets of Canadian power distributor TransAlta. The acquisitions were the first of their kind in the deregulating North American electricity market. Trans-Elect is also involved in several expansion projects in congested areas of the US grid.

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.

PG&E Corporation is well on the way to fully recharging its batteries after losing power and declaring bankruptcy following California's energy crisis and the ensuing collapse of the wholesale energy trading industry. Its venerable Pacific Gas and Electric utility serves approximately 5.1 million electric customers and 4.3 million natural gas customers in California. The utility (founded in 1905) is also engaged in electricity generation; procurement and transmission; and natural gas procurement, transportation, and storage. In September 2010 a PG&E utility gas transmission line ruptured in San Bruno, causing a major fire, loss of life, and destruction of, or damage to, about 170 homes.

Southern Maryland gets it power via the South Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO), which distributes electricity to more than 147,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in four counties. One of the ten largest electric cooperatives in the US, the member-owned enterprise gets its wholesale power supply through its membership in ACES Power Marketing. SMECO's service area includes all of Calvert and St. Mary's counties, and parts of of Calvert and Prince George's counties. Cities covered include Hughesville, Leonardtown, Prince Frederick, and White Plains.

This Springfield is not Homer Simpson's hometown, or Abe Lincoln's. City Utilities of Springfield, Missouri supplies electricity, natural gas, and water for residents and businesses in the southwestern Missouri town. The utility, which has about 1,970 miles of power lines and 1,300 miles of natural gas mains, serves about 106,560 electric customers, more than 82,220 natural gas customers, and more than 76,600 water customers. It also operates the municipal bus system, which has 25 regular street buses and five demand/response buses. City Utilities of Springfield has a service region of 320 sq. ml. and serves a base population of 229,000.

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