Company: GLU-PB
Filing Date: 2025-03-10
Form Type: N-CSR
Source: 0001829126-25-001658
Chunk: 69

Company: GABELLI GLOBAL UTILITY & INCOME TRUST
Filing Date: 2025-03-10
Form: N-CSR
Chunk 69
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 the growth rate of their dividends. Given mergers and proposed legislation and enforcement changes, it is likely that both traditional telephone companies and cable companies will continue to provide an expanding range of utility services to residential, corporate and governmental customers.

Gas.Gas transmission companies and gas distribution companies are also undergoing significant changes. In the United States, interstate transmission companies are regulated by the FERC, which began reducing its regulation of the industry in the 1980s. Many companies have diversified into oil and gas exploration and development, making returns more sensitive to energy prices. In the recent decade, gas utility companies have been adversely affected by disruptions in the oil industry, including related to political conditions in oil producing regions (such as the Middle East), by increased concentration and competition, and by differing approaches to energy policy in the United States, including increased incentives for the exploration and production of alternative energy and climate-related programs, revocation of federal permits for, and public opposition to, natural gas pipelines, such as the cross-border operation permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline and other policy decisions that favor alternative energy sources. The extension of these policies, or the adoption of similar policies, could adversely affect the financial performance of gas transmission and distribution companies. Prolonged changes in climatic conditions can also have a significant impact on both the revenues and expenses of a gas utility. Natural gas is the cleanest of the hydrocarbon fuels, and this may result in incremental shifts in fuel consumption toward natural gas and away from oil and coal, even for electricity generation. However, technological or regulatory changes within the industry may delay or prevent this result.

Water.In the case of the water utility sector, the industry is highly fragmented, and most water supply companies find themselves in mature markets, although upgrading of fresh water and waste water systems is an expanding business.

Technology and Competitive Risks.The introduction and phase-in of new technologies can affect a utility company’s competitive strength. The race by long-distance telephone providers to incorporate fiber optic technology is one example of competitive risk within the utilities industry.

The increasing role of independent power producers (IPPs) in the natural gas and electric utility segments of the utilities industry is another example of competitive risk. Typically, IPPs wholesale power to established local providers, but there is a trend toward letting them sell power directly to industrial consumers. Co-generation facilities, such as those of landfill operators that produce methane gas as a byproduct of their core business, pose another competitive challenge to gas and electric utilities. In addition to offering a less expensive source of power, these companies may