Electric Power Transmission, Distribution & Marketing Industry Profile

Companies in this industry own and operate high-voltage transmission lines and retail distribution systems, as well as intermediaries like energy dealers and brokers. Major companies include American Electric Power, Duke Energy, and Exelon (all based in the US), as well as EON (Germany), Federal Grid Company of Unified Energy System (Russia), SSE (Scotland), State Grid Corporation of China and China Southern Power Grid (both based in China), and TEPCO (Japan).

The global electricity industry produces about 25 trillion kilowatt hours (KWh) of electricity annually. The leading countries in electricity generation, consumption, and installed capacity are China, the US, India, Russia, Japan, Canada, and Brazil. Growth in the global electricity market will be primarily in African countries and India, where large portions of the population still lack access to electricity.

The US electric power transmission and distribution industry includes about 8,200 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $340 billion. Companies that produce electricity are covered in the Electric Power Generation industry profile.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

While deregulation has altered power markets in many nations, electric utilities often continue to operate as unofficial monopolies in a given service territory. Demand for electricity is driven by industrial and commercial activity and by population growth. The profitability of individual companies depends on government regulations and the efficiency of their operations. Large companies have?economies of scale?in purchasing power; small companies can ...