Northwest Natural Gas Company stores and distributes natural gas in Oregon, Washington, and California. The company operates in two segments, Local Gas Distribution and Gas Storage. The Local Gas Distribution segment distributes natural gas in Oregon and southwest Washington. This segment engages in building and maintaining pipeline distribution system, purchasing gas from producers and marketers, contracting for the transportation of gas over pipelines from the supply basins to service territory, and reselling the gas to customers. It also transports gas owned by customers from the interstate pipeline connection, or city gate, to the customers’ facilities. This segment serves various industries, including pulp, paper, and other forest products; companies manufacturing electronic, electrochemical, and electrometallurgical products; companies engaged in processing of farm and food products; metal fabrication and casting companies; organizations that produce various mineral products, machine tools, machinery, and textiles; companies that manufacture asphalt, concrete, and rubber; printing and publishing companies; nurseries; government and educational institutions; and electric generation companies. As of December 31, 2009, it served approximately 668,000 total utility customers comprising approximately 605,000 residential, 62,000 commercial, and 1,000 industrial sales and transportation customers. The Gas Storage segment offers underground natural gas storage services to interstate and intrastate customers in the Pacific Northwest. It holds interests in approximately 8,500 net acres of underground natural gas storage in Oregon and approximately 1,900 net acres of underground natural gas storage in California; and interests in approximately 1,600 net acres of oil and gas leases in Oregon. This segment serves primarily natural gas distribution, electric generation, and energy marketing companies. Northwest Natural Gas Company was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Portland, Oregon.

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.

Kissimmee Utility Authority (KUA) is committed to redoubling efforts to serve this Florida city with three double letters in its name. KUA operates the municipal power distribution system serving 62,000 commercial and industrial, and residential customers in Kissimmee and surrounding areas. It also offers its customers internet, telephone, and security services. In addition, the community-owned utility has stakes in some power generation units. The century-old company is used to managing operations in a hurricane prone area. In 2009 the company piloted a 4-day working week option for its employees as a way to bring down costs.

A company so nice they named it twice is doubling its efforts to deliver power. NRG Energy, a leading power producer with a generating capacity of about 24,500 MW (including 345 MW from renewable energy), is moving onward and upward. The vast majority of NRG's power plants are in North America, but it also has one in Australia and one in Germany. The company's global portfolio includes about 190 generation units at 47 power plants. It also markets natural gas, oil, and other commodities, and invests in district heating and cooling and alternative energy projects. Its retail unit, Reliant Energy, distributes power to more than 1.6 million residential, business, commercial, and industrial customers in Texas.

Hokkaido Electric Power Co. (HEPCO) distributes electricity to almost 3.9 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers on the northernmost Japanese island, Hokkaido. The company operates more than 46,760 miles of transmission and distribution lines, and it owns thermal, hydroelectric, and nuclear power plants (including the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors at Tomari Power Station). HEPCO also purchases and markets wholesale energy; other operations include engineering and construction, energy consulting, electrical appliance sales, telecommunications, information technology, and utility-related services. New businesses include medical imaging systems and realty. The company was founded in 1951.

Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG Power) supplies wholesale electric power. The authority has a generating capacity of 2,069 MW through its interests in nuclear and fossil-fueled plants. Some 43% of the energy MEAG Power delivers comes from its nuclear plants. MEAG Power transmits electricity to 49 municipal and one county distribution systems across Georgia that in turn serve some 600,000 consumers. MEAG Power utilizes a transmission network that is co-owned by all the power suppliers in Georgia, though it plans to join a regional transmission organization (RTO).

Let's cut right to the point: construction materials and mining used to be the lifeblood of Knife River Corporation, but in recent years, its energy and utility operations have grown to be the largest portion of its business. Oil and natural gas production, power transmission, pipelines and power utilities now dominate Knife River's balance sheet. But don't count out its construction services division, which continues to produce record earnings. Knife River has operations in Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, California, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas, and Wyoming. The company is a subsidiary of MDU Resources Group, Inc.

Manila Electric Company (Meralco) is the largest utility in the Philippines, providing power to 4.6 million customers in 29 cities (including metropolitan Manila) and 82 municipalities. As deregulation takes effect, Meralco is reducing its dependence on state-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor) by increasing the amount of power it purchases from independent power producers. Meralco has prepared for greater competition by moving into nonregulated activities, including energy, e-commerce, and real estate. In 2008 Philippine conglomerate San Miguel Corp. acquired the Philippine government's 27% stake in Meralco, and raised that to 48% in 2009. Metro Pacific Investments boosted its stake to 20% soon after that.

Basin Electric Power Cooperative, as do other electric-powered items in nine states from Montana to Iowa to New Mexico. The regional, consumer-owned power generation and transmission co-op generates more than 4,000 MW of capacity (mostly coal-fired) for some 136 rural electric member systems, which serve about 2.8 million people. Basin Electric's subsidiaries include Dakota Gasification (which produces natural gas from coal), Dakota Coal (markets lignite and limestone), Basin Telecommunications (Internet access), and Basin Cooperative Services (property management).

Piedmont Municipal Power Agency (Piedmont Power) generates, purchases, and transmits wholesale electricity on behalf of its 10 member municipal utilities, which distribute the power to nearly 95,000 retail customers in northwestern South Carolina. These ten utilities serve the cities of Abbeville, Clinton, Easley, Gaffney, Greer, Laurens, Newberry, Rock Hill, Union, and Westminster. Piedmont Power was created to buy an ownership interest in the Catawba Nuclear Station in York County, South Carolina, in order to secure a reliable source of electric generation for its member utilities.The agency currently owns a 25% stake in the Catawba plant.

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