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Organization and Operations
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Organization and Operations [Abstract]  
Organization and Operations
Organization and Operations
We are a wholesale power generation company engaged in the ownership and operation of primarily natural gas-fired and geothermal power plants in North America. We have a significant presence in major competitive wholesale power markets in California (included in our West segment), Texas (included in our Texas segment) and the Northeast region (included in our East segment) of the U.S. We sell wholesale power, steam, capacity, renewable energy credits and ancillary services to our customers, which include utilities, independent electric system operators, industrial and agricultural companies, retail power providers, municipalities, power marketers and others. We purchase primarily natural gas and some fuel oil as fuel for our power plants and engage in related natural gas transportation and storage transactions. We purchase electric transmission rights to deliver power to our customers. Additionally, consistent with our Risk Management Policy, we enter into natural gas, power and other physical and financial contracts to hedge certain business risks and optimize our portfolio of power plants.