For example, eliminating government subsidies on coal and oil will force factories and utilities to become more efficient.

For another, he says that civilian nuclear waste management could be privatized, forcing electric utilities to justify the operating expenses to cost-conscious regulators.

But long delays in opening Yucca Mountain forced nuclear utilities to go from the open-array configuration to more compact arrangements.

The agreement will force utilities and factories to cut, on average by the year 2003, more than two-thirds of the pollution they release into the air, Federal officials say.

The Court's decision could also force nuclear utilities to open new waste sites or expand existing ones on their own property, Mr. Cuomo said.

The complexity and expense of safety systems have forced utilities to build very large plants that can produce more electricity and thus more revenue.

This particular situation forced Canadian utilities to innovate.

And regulators in several states are considering forcing utilities to pay a penalty for periods that they fail to provide power.

Some states, like New York, have fully deregulated, forcing utilities to sell plants and buy power from generators in wholesale power markets.

Those states are either forcing utilities to sell their generating plants or are considering doing so.