Portland General Electric: Solid Dividend At A Fair Price

By Jim Pyke:Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) provides equipment and mail solutions globally to both small and medium businesses, as well as large enterprises. Its equipment offerings include high speed sorting and printing systems. PBI also offers software, services, and facilities managements services. PBI markets its products and services through a variety of channels,including direct sales, telemarketing, distributors and dealers.

By Jim Pyke:TECO Energy, Inc. (TE) is a utility providing gas and electricity to the metro Tampa area in Florida. TE is a fully integrated electric utility with approximately 4.5 GigaWatts of generating capacity. TE also purchases, markets and distributes natural gas to its retail customers. TE is also engaged in coal mining and processing. TE was founded in 1899.

By Jim Pyke:American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NYSE: AEP) is a vertically integrated electric utility. AEP owns almost 38 gigawatts of generation capacity and 39,000 miles of transmission lines. The company has operations in the states of Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

By Jim Pyke:3M Company (MMM), formerly known as Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is a long time member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. MMM make a broad array of products ranging from the well known Scotch tape products and Post-it note products to computer privacy screens and transdermal drug delivery systems.

Bret Jensen submits:Another choppy day in the markets came to a close Wednesday. Equities meandered throughout the day to finally finish down slightly overall. The Dow managed a minor gain, but both the S&P and NASDAQ ended in the red.

Zacks.com submits: ProLogis (PLD) a leading global provider of distribution facilities, recently announced a new rooftop solar project in Portland. On completion, the project spanning 90,000 square feet of roof space and generating about 2.4 megawatts ((MW)) of energy would be the largest rooftop solar system in the Pacific Northwest region.

By Jim Pyke:Xcel Energy Inc.(XEL) is a leading electric utility. XEL provides electricity services to approximately 3.4 million customers and gas services to 1.9 million customers across parts of Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin.

By Robert Weinstein:As a follow up to part I, I will take a look at more electric utility companies that may be good investments for retirement accounts. Utility companies make natural candidates for safely investing in the stock market, but the landscape has changed. Make sure you understand what possible competitive risks may "suddenly appear" that others have not thought of.