SUEZ SA (SUEZ) is organized in four operational branches in its two lines of business: Energy and Environment. The Electricity & Gas Europe business line covers all European activities in the gas and electricity sector, SUEZ Energy Europe (SEE). The Electricity & Gas International business line handles SUEZ activities in the gas and electricity business outside Europe, SUEZ Energy International (SEI). The Industrial and Energy Services business line performs SUEZ activities in industrial installation and maintenance services, and in energy and engineering services, SUEZ Energy Services (SES). The SUEZ Environment business line covers all of its activities in the water and cleanliness businesses. SUEZ Energy Europe The major companies making up SEE include Electrabel and Distrigas and Fluxys. Electrabel, which was 98.62%-owned, as of December 31, 2005, and is a European provider of global and tailor-made energy solutions, including production, trading, sales and distribution networks. In Belgium, it operates electricity and natural gas networks. Electrabel has operations in France, Italy, the Iberian Peninsula and Germany. Electrabel is developing a growth portfolio in Poland, Hungary and other East European countries. In Belgium, Electrabel manages a capacity of over 13,000 megawatt exploiting various techniques: combined-cycle gas-steam power plants, cogeneration, nuclear power plants, conventional coal, gas and oil thermal units, hydroelectric power plants, wind energy and energy recovery. Electrabel is also developing a whole range of energy products and services. In the Netherlands, Electrabel is a producer of electricity, via its subsidiary Electrabel Nederland. It operates in France under the name Electrabel, Groupe SUEZ. In Italy, AceaElectrabel, an association between Acea and Electrabel, is the company in charge of commercial and production activities. The Company is a supplier of natural gas in Belgium, via Distrigas, Electrabel and Electrabel's holdings in mixed inter-municipalities. In Belgium, the transport network, managed by Fluxys, is comprised of 3,800 kilometers of ducts, some 80% of which are high-pressure pipelines. Distrigas is a merchant company whose principal activity is the purchase and sale of natural gas in Europe. Distrigas also commercializes the international transport capacity that it has under contract or owns, including transit contracts, capacity in the Interconnector underwater gas pipeline linking Belgium and the United Kingdom, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) transport capacities. Based on its natural gas supply portfolio, its activities therefore cover areas, including sales of natural gas in Belgium and Europe, plus LNG on other markets; arbitrage activities on natural gas spot markets; contract management for transit in Belgium with cross-border capacity; commercialization of transport capacities outside Belgium, and transport of LNG. As of December 31, 2005, SUEZ held a 57.24% participating interest in Distrigas and a 57.25% participating interest in Fluxys. Fluxys is an independent operator of the natural gas transport infrastructure in Belgium. Fluxys' principal activity is the operation, maintenance and development of its integrated natural gas transport infrastructure and storage facilities in Zeebrugge and Loenhout. SUEZ Energy International SEI is responsible for its energy and service activities on markets outside Europe. Electricity and natural gas make up SEI's core business. This covers the production of electricity, the trading, marketing and sale of energy, as well as the management of transport and distribution systems and LNG. SEI is organized into four regional entities coordinated by a central organization located in Brussels. North America, where SUEZ Energy North America, a wholly owned subsidiary of SEI based in Houston, Texas, manages all of its electricity and gas activities in the United States, Canada and Mexico, including the LNG regasification facilities. In North America, SUEZ Energy North America manages SEI activities carri