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IV. Comparison with Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs) <br />In 2006, investor-owned distribution utilities paid a median of 4.2 percent of electric <br />operating revenues in taxes and fees to state and local governments. The 50 percent of <br />utilities in the middle range made payments ranging from 3.1 to 5.9 percent. In comparison, <br />publicly owned distribution utilities paid a median of 5.0 percent in net payments and <br />contributions as a percent of electric operating revenue, with a middle range of 2.6 to 7.2 <br />percent. <br />In this study, most IOUs (91 %) had more than $100 million in operating revenues while <br />most of the publicly owned systems had less than $100 million (90%). The median values <br />of taxes paid by IOUs and tax payments and contributions by publicly owned systems (as a <br />percentage of electric operating revenue) vary by utility size and are summarized below: <br />Investor-Owned Publicly Owned <br />Large Utilities (over $100 Million) 4.4% 5.7% <br />Small Utilities (under $100 Million) 3.1% 4.9% <br />The median value for investor-owned systems was the largest in the Atlantic and West <br />North Central regions, and smallest in the East South Central and Pacific Northwest. Table <br />3, on the following page presents data grouped by geographic region for investor-owned <br />utilities. <br />The number of investor-owned utilities has fallen from 144 in the 2000 study to 122 in the <br />2006 study. This is primarily the result of mergers and the elimination of several utilities in <br />Maine and Texas that no longer report sales to consumers. Retail choice taws in those two <br />states changed how utilities account for sales. <br />5 <br />