Don't be scared: Market demands utility diversification

摘要

The-definition of "diversify" in relation-ship to commerce is to expand into new areas of business. Market pressures toward diversification within the electric utility industry these days have dramatically decreased. Instead, the media reports of retreats from ventures. Alliant Energy Corp., for example, sold its ownership in a joint electricity-trading venture to Cargill Inc. to keep company investments focused in three areas: Alliant's domestic utility, wholesale power plants and international investments. Overall, diversification is being thwarted by the energy trading scandal. It began with Enron irregularities, and, recently, Duke Energy Corp. admitted to 23 artificial energy trades used to raise volume on the electronic trading platform. So, we see both a retreat and a holding pattern, with the tendency being to "stick to our knitting" in the current fluctuating market. With stock prices overall depressed, compa-nies' options are limited as far as expansion goes, but the market still demands action.