For maintaining current growth rates, India's demand for energy is expected to rise further. Recent waves of infrastructure development have also been particularly taxing in this area.

At the same time, pressures in oil supply, and rising price of the barrel due to incidents like the hurricane Katrina are forcing executives back to the basics of scenario planning.

Worldwide, deregulation is putting overwhelming pressure on utilities to cut costs and find new growth opportunities, and companies are trying all kinds of strategies to do so: vertical integration, network operation and energy trading. Yet turmoil is painful, and the results of the utilities' efforts are thus far mixed. No doubt, it'll be tough going.

But opportunities to grow and to profit persist. One response is to maximize the core business, obtain full potential from attractive adjacencies, and defend against (or exploit) significant structural change.

Major & Minor helps clients improve operating performance by streamlining distribution and centralizing services. And to develop a true performance culture, Major & Minor partners with those clients to execute organizational turnarounds and multiyear change management programs.

To find out more about Major & Minor's work in this industry, please contact expertise@majornminor.com.