1.   AEP owns utilities that provide power to customers in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee.

2.   Both companies already own utilities in Australia.

3.   Gone are the days when the government owned all utilities, jobs were for life and there was no competition, Forbes said.

4.   In Kansas, about five dozen communities, such as Winfield and Osage, own gas utilities.

5.   Southern, which owns five utilities, is the largest U.S. producer of electricity.

6.   That could include more in Kansas and Missouri and possibly municipally owned utilities, Green said.

7.   The Ontario government, which owns the utility, is considering taking the company public to make it more competitive.

8.   The utility is owned by Public Service Enterprise Group Inc.

9.   Western owns two utilities and has one of the largest electronic security businesses in the U.S.

10.   Ohio-based FirstEnergy Corp. recently announced the acquisition of GPU Inc., which owns utilities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.