The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates the interstate transmission and wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas and regulates the prices of interstate transport of petroleum by pipeline. FERC also reviews proposals to build interstate natural gas pipelines, natural gas storage projects, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, in addition to licensing non-federal hydropower projects.
A public utility company is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service. Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to statewide government monopolies.
In the United States government, independent agencies are agencies that exist outside the federal executive departments and the Executive Office of the President. In a narrower sense, the term refers only to those independent agencies that, while considered part of the executive branch, have regulatory or rulemaking authority and are insulated from presidential control, usually because the president's power to dismiss the agency head or a member is limited.
The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA), also known as the Wheeler-Rayburn Act, was a US federal law giving the Securities and Exchange Commission authority to regulate, license, and break up electric utility holding companies. It limited holding company operations to a single state, thus subjecting them to effective state regulation. It also broke up any holding companies with more than two tiers, forcing divestitures so that each became a single integrated system serving a limited geographic area. Another purpose of the PUHCA was to keep utility holding companies engaged in regulated businesses from also engaging in unregulated businesses. The act was based on the conclusions and recommendations of the 1928-35 Federal Trade Commission investigation of the electric industry. On March 12, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt released a report he commissioned by the National Power Policy Committee. This report became the template for the PUHCA. The political battle over its passage was one of the bitterest of the New Deal, and was followed by eleven years of legal appeals by holding companies led by the Electric Bond and Share Company, which finally completed its breakup in 1961.
A public utilities commission is a quasi-governmental body that provides oversight and/or regulation of public utilities in a particular area, especially in the United States and Canada.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) is an independent regulatory agency within the U.S. state of Minnesota responsible for the oversight and regulation of public utilities, including electric, natural gas, and telecommunications services. Created by the Minnesota Legislature, the commission's primary mission is to ensure that residents of Minnesota have access to safe, adequate, and efficient utility services at fair, reasonable rates. It plays a significant role in balancing the needs of consumers, the environment, and utility companies.
The Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) is an independent regulatory agency which manages public utilities and motor carriers in Louisiana. The Commission was created by Article IV, Section 21 of the 1921 Constitution of the State of Louisiana. It succeeded the Railroad Commission of Louisiana that was created by the 1898 Constitution. The commission has five elected members chosen in single-member districts for staggered six-year terms. Thus the commissioners have large constituencies, long terms, and close involvement with issues of intense consumer interest ; consequently membership in LPSC has been known to serve as a springboard to even higher public office, as in the cases of Huey Long, Jimmie Davis, John McKeithen, and Kathleen Babineaux Blanco — LPSC members who became governors of Louisiana.
The California Public Utilities Commission is a regulatory agency that regulates privately owned public utilities in the state of California, including electric power, telecommunications, natural gas and water companies. In addition, the CPUC regulates common carriers, including household goods movers, limousines, rideshare services, self-driving cars, and rail crossing safety. The CPUC has headquarters in the Civic Center district of San Francisco, and field offices in Los Angeles and Sacramento.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is the public utilities commission of the U.S state of Oklahoma run by three statewide elected commissioners. Authorized to employ more than 400 employees, it regulates oil and gas drilling, utilities and telephone companies.
The Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) regulates investor-owned electric, natural gas, and water and wastewater utilities. The FPSC facilitates competitive markets in the telecommunications industry, has authority over intercarrier disputes, and oversees pay telephones, the federal Lifeline Assistance Program and Telecommunications Relay Service.
The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) is an independent administrative agency within the state government which regulates public utilities and certain taxi cab and other passenger services in Maryland. Similar to other state public utilities commissions, the Maryland PSC regulates and sets tariff rates for natural gas, electricity distribution, local telephone, water, and sewage disposal companies. The PSC also sets the tariff rates for pilot services for vessels and privately owned toll bridges, approves the construction of electric generating plants and overhead transmission lines with a voltage above 69 kV, and licenses retail natural gas and electricity suppliers. The PSC offices are located in Baltimore in the William Donald Schaefer Building.
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) is the national association representing the U.S. state public service commissioners who regulate essential utility services, including energy, telecommunications, and water. Founded in 1889, the Association is a resource for its members and the regulatory community, providing a venue to set and influence public policy, share best practices, and foster solutions to improve regulation.
The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) is a statutory organ of the state government of Georgia; elected among five commission districts, the board consists of a Chairman, a Vice-chairman, and three Commissioners. PSC regulates telecommunications, transportation, electric and natural gas services in the U.S. state of Georgia. Commissioners are elected in partisan elections statewide, though they must reside in a district.
The Montana Public Service Commission(PSC) is a quasi-judicial regulatory board of elected officials in the U.S. state of Montana.
The South Carolina Public Service Commission (PSC) is a regulatory agency that regulates public utilities in the state of South Carolina, including electric power, telecommunications, natural gas, and water & wastewater. In addition, the PSC regulates common carriers, including motor carriers of household goods and taxicabs. The PSC also regulates the transportation of companies that provide hazardous waste disposal. The headquarters of the PSC is in the state's capital, Columbia.
The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin is an independent regulatory agency responsible for regulating public utilities in the energy, telecommunications, gas and water companies located in U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2021, the agency regulated more than 1,100 electric, natural gas, telephone, water, and water/sewer utilities.
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) is the public utilities commission of the state of Indiana, led by five commissioners appointed by the governor.
The Mississippi Public Service Commission is a government agency which regulates telecommunications, electric, gas, water and sewer utilities in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The commission was created in 1884 and in its early history was tasked with regulating various transport and telecommunications industries in the state. It assumed its current name in 1938 and was given jurisdiction over electric, gas, and water utilities in 1956.
John Carl Gotwals was an American military engineer. His long career in the Corps of Engineers included a term (1930–1934) as the Engineer Commissioner of the District of Columbia.
