Southern Co.'s (NYSE: SO) stock has meandered over the past four months, but rare is the day one should sell an electric power generation play.

Hence, I'm reiterating my Buy rating for SO, first recommended on June 19, 2009 at a price of $30.61.

Rare is the day that one should sell an electric power generation play. And the reasons are compelling:

Electricity via wind, solar, and nuclear generation is likely to play a larger role in energy as climate change reduction, then elimination, becomes a societal goal. Electricity also remains a potential propulsion source for cars, given that oil has apparently resumed its climb to uncomfortable levels.

Hence, I'm Reiterating my Buy rating for electric utility Allegheny Energy, Inc. (NYSE: AYE), first recommended on May 30, 2009 at a price of $25.00.

Rare is the day I'll sell an electric power generation play, particularly nuclear power. Unlike France, the United States frittered away an opportunity to create a 21st century power generation system 30 years ago, and it will now play catch-up for 20 years, and nuclear will be a part of the solution.

Entergy Corp. (NYSE: ETR), the second largest nuclear power generator in the U.S., will be a part of that mix. It is performing as expected, which is why I'm reiterating my Buy rating for the company's shares, first recommended on May 12, 2009 at a price of $74.31.

Dominion Resources' stock has been in a mild uptrend since first recommend in May, but it's still undervalued, for those investors who missed the May call.

Hence, it goes without saying that I'm reiterating my Buy rating for Dominion Resources (NYSE: D), first recommended on May 8, 2009 at a price of $31.87.

Rare is the day I'll sell an electric power generation play. I'm reiterating my Buy rating for Northeast Utilities (NYSE: NU), first recommended on May 6, 2009 at a price of $21.48.

NU's business model is low-risk -- its electric unit primarily serves customers (1.9 million in all) in land-of-steady-habits Connecticut, Western Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, and offers above-average total return, with only a modest downside risk. In this investing environment, that's impressive.

The U.S. electric power generating sector may be down, due to the recession and a cooler-than-normal summer across much of the U.S., but it's not out.

Hence, it goes without saying that I'm reiterating my Buy rating for American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), first recommended on May 4, 2009 at a price of $25.38.

Readers of this space know that one of the preferred sectors is the electric power generation sector.

And it's preferred for a reason that may not be obvious to all. Electricity via wind, solar, and nuclear generation is likely to play a large role in energy as climate change reduction, then elimination, becomes a societal goal. Electricity also remains a potential propulsion source for cars, particularly once oil resumes its inevitable climb. And with the above in mind, electric power generator PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) is worth a review.

Readers of this space know that one of the preferred sectors is the electric power generation sector.

And the sector is favored for a reason that may not be obvious to all. Electricity via wind, solar, and nuclear generation is likely to play a larger role in energy as climate change reduction, then elimination, becomes a societal goal. Electricity also remains a potential propulsion source for cars, particularly once oil resumes its inevitable climb. And with the above in mind, electric power generator Dominion Resources (NYSE: D) is worth a review.

Wind and solar, two renewable energy sources with a promising future, nevertheless face a bottleneck of sorts in the United States: the electric power grid. The existing grid can not handle the new demands, The New York Times reported Wednesday, forcing renewable wind and solar sites to shut down, even when conditions are right to generate and sell power.

An infrastructure-challenged U.S.

Economist Glen Langan says there's a theme that keeps popping up in the U.S. economy in the early 21st century: inadequate infrastructure. "We're a nation of inadequate infrastructures: the power grid, air travel/air traffic control, railways, highways... pick an infrastructure and you'll see a network that can't handle present demands, let alone an expanded national economy in 2020 or 2030," Langan said.

The power grid bottleneck is particularly frustrating and damaging because both wind and solar power generation systems are mushrooming, and could, with an adequate grid, account for more than 20% of the nation's power needs, Langan said, adding that some economic models put renewable energy's potential contribution even higher, at 25% or more.

"Imagine T. Boone Pickens building his massive, multi-billion dollar wind mill farm and having it sit idle because the grid cannot tolerate and transmit the increased power? Pretty sad," Langan said.

The United States is a nation whose electric power generation system and grid is becoming increasing inadequate, even as the nation grapples with another energy problem -- the $4 per gallon gasoline era.

Moreover, an economic slowdown and a relatively mild summer have to-date reduced the typical electric load electric power generation plants would face, but that respite will end when the U.S. economy starts to expand at a healthy rate again. And when it does, electric power demand will increase.

What's one model the United States could follow to generate more electricity while the same time reducing coal-based pollution and climate change? France.

That's right: France. Nuclear power is experiencing a mild comeback in the United States, with 34 new reactor applications on file at the U.S.'s Nuclear Regulatory Agency. In France, it never left. Further, had the United States followed the French model, the U.S. would be vastly more energy self-sufficient today.

France: liberty, fraternity, equality, fission

Nuclear power never went out of style in France, and for this reason France is decades ahead of the United States -- and much of the world, for that matter -- regarding energy self-sufficiency, The New York Times reported. An astounding 77% of France's electricity comes from its 58 nuclear power plants, and it is a net-exporter of electricity to Europe. The United States has 104 nuclear power plants, which account for only 19.4% of its generated electricity, according to U.S. Department of Energy data, The Times reported.

That the developing and developed world will need considerably more electricity in the decades ahead would not surprise most investors / readers.

That both economic zones can achieve this goal while adding a minimal amount of soot to the atmosphere, however, would.

And the technology that will undoubtedly serve as a key energy-generation component in emerging markets' 21st century power grid? You guessed it: nuclear power -- the power generation form that has lagged in the United States for more than 20 years, due to environmental regulations.

China, India push forward with plant plans

China and India are two emerging market nations that recognize that nuclear power is an essential part of meeting future electricity demand. Nuclear power will account for more than 5% of China's power output by 2020, Bloomberg News reported Monday. Meanwhile, India will start three nuclear reactors this year.

Economist Glen Langan said that while nuclear power is not, strictly speaking, a renewable energy, it has to be considered as part of the next-generation energy mix [along with wind and solar power] to meet the U.S.'s growing demand for electricity.

The rise in commodity prices is set to complicate the growth plans for yet another sector.

Projected costs for a new generation of nuclear power plants on the drawing boards are increasing at an enormous rate -- in some cases double to quadruple their earlier, rough estimates - - The Wall Street Journal reported Monday(subscription required).

Further, that new generation of nuclear power plants has emerged as an important component of the United States' future energy supply, due to $100-plus oil and the technology's superiority to high-pollution, coal-fired energy plants, The Journal reported Monday. However, surging costs for cement, steel, and copper, among other factors, have caused nuclear plant construction costs to soar to $5-$12 billion -- a trend that could lead to delayed or canceled projects.

Rising energy costs

Economist Peter Dawson told BloggingStocks Monday what investors should take away from the rising nuclear plant cost phenomenon is not so much a comparison of the positives/negatives of each energy technology, but the rising cost of energy, across all platforms, in general.

General Electric and Vestas Wind Systems are reaping the benefits as U.S. utilities assertively add generating capacity from renewable/alternative energy sources, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday.

For example, XCel Energy (NYSE: XEL), the U.S.'s largest provider of wind power, is buying 67 General Electric (NYSE: GE) turbines for a Minnesota wind farm, and GE expects its turbine sales to increase 25% to $6 billion this year, Bloomberg News reported. GE was the largest supplier of wind turbines in 2007, with a 45% market share. Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) and Vestas are two other major global manufacturers of wind turbines that should continue to benefit as wind power usage increases: each is opening manufacturing plants in the U.S. to accommodate increased wind energy-related sales.

GE's shares gained 89 cents to $34.29, while Siemens AG rose 20 cents to $128.20 in Wednesday afternoon trading.

Readers of this space know that the investment bias is toward large-cap companies with demonstrated business models and who have a competitive advantage in established markets, preferably with a favorable global trend as a support. But every once in while an exception is made for a non-conforming but innovative/promising company, and along this line EnerNOC is worth a review.

EnerNOC, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENOC) develops and provides clean power solutions to commercial, institutional, and industrial customers, as well as to electric power grid operators and utilities.

Analysts really like ENOC's next-generation, technology-based business model. The company uses its network operations center to remotely manage electricity consumption across a network of end-use customer sites and to make electric capacity and energy available on demand to grid operators and utilities.

I read a quote in an article recently which stated, "What Wall Street is about is smart guys thinking about ways to make money from dumb ones." That quote is attributed to one John E. Fitzgibbon, the publisher of an online newsletter, in an article from Eric Dash via The New York Times. While Mr. Fitzgibbon's remark might validate special investing skill on the part of some smart and timely investors, I take exception to the notion that all those investors who lost money in the markets over the past year are the dumb ones.

The question now is, where is the smart money headed?