Public utilities commission

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A public utilities commission is a quasi-governmental body that provides oversight and/or regulation of public utilities in a particular area (locality, municipality, or subnational division), especially in the United States and Canada.

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The utilities in question may be owned by the consumers that it serves, a mutual utility like a public utility district, a state-owned utility, or it may be a stockholder-owned utility either publicly traded on a stock exchange or closely held among just a few investors. These utilities often operate as legal monopolies, which means that they do not compete in a marketplace but are instead regulated by commissions to ensure fair pricing.

Canada

In Canada, a public utilities commission (PUC) is a public utility regulator, typically a semi-independent quasi-judicial tribunal, owned and operated within a municipal or local government system under the oversight of one or more elected commissioners. [1] Its role is analogous to a municipal utility district or public utility district in the US.

Below are the PUCs in Canada:

Former commissions in Ontario include:

United States

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Appointed by governor
Appointed by legislature
Election by single-winner district
Election at-large for all members
Election at-large from residency districts; suspended as of 19 August 2022 PUC elections in the US.svg
  Appointed by governor
  Appointed by legislature
  Election by single-winner district
  Election at-large for all members
  Election at-large from residency districts; suspended as of 19 August 2022

In the United States, a public utilities commission (PUC), utilities commission, utility regulatory commission (URC), or public service commission (PSC) is a governing body that regulates the rates and services of a public utility, such as an electric utility. In some cases, government bodies with the title "public service commission" may be civil service oversight bodies, rather than utilities regulators.

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners [9] is the national association representing the interests of the public utilities commissions in all 50 states. The Interstate Commerce Commission and Federal Communications Commission perform similar functions in their respective fields in the United States.

The first state utility regulator was the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, founded in 1907 under Governor Robert M. La Follette to set minimum standards and regulate rates of monopoly utilities. [10]

PUCs in the US by state

JurisdictionOrganizationMembersSelection of commissioners
Flag of Louisiana.svg  Louisiana Louisiana Public Service Commission [11] 5Elected by district
Flag of Mississippi.svg  Mississippi Mississippi Public Service Commission [12] 3Elected by district
Flag of Montana.svg  Montana Montana Public Service Commission [13] 5Elected by district
Flag of Nebraska.svg  Nebraska Nebraska Public Service Commission [14] 5Elected by district
Flag of New Mexico.svg  New Mexico New Mexico Public Regulation Commission [15] 3Elected by district
Flag of Alabama.svg  Alabama Alabama Public Service Commission [16] 3Elected at-large
Flag of Arizona.svg  Arizona Arizona Corporation Commission [17] 5Elected at-large
Flag of Georgia (U.S. state).svg  Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia Public Service Commission [18] 5Elected at-large from residency districts
Flag of North Dakota.svg  North Dakota North Dakota Public Service Commission [19] 3Elected at-large
Flag of Oklahoma.svg  Oklahoma Oklahoma Corporation Commission [20] 3Elected at-large
Flag of South Dakota.svg  South Dakota South Dakota Public Utilities Commission [21] 3Elected at-large
Flag of South Carolina.svg  South Carolina South Carolina Public Service Commission [22] 7Legislative appointment
Flag of Virginia.svg  Virginia Virginia State Corporation Commission [23] 3Legislative appointment
Flag of Alaska.svg  Alaska Regulatory Commission of Alaska [24] Appointed by the governor
Flag of Arkansas.svg  Arkansas Arkansas Public Service Commission [25] 3Appointed by the governor
Flag of California.svg  California California Public Utilities Commission [26] 5Appointed by the governor
Flag of Colorado.svg  Colorado Colorado Public Utilities Commission [27] 3Appointed by the governor
Flag of Connecticut.svg  Connecticut Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority [28] Appointed by the governor
Flag of Delaware.svg  Delaware Delaware Public Service Commission [29] 5Appointed by the governor
Flag of Washington, D.C.svg  DC District of Columbia Public Service Commission [30] 3Appointed by the mayor
Flag of Florida.svg  Florida Florida Public Service Commission [31] 5Appointed by the governor
Flag of Hawaii.svg  Hawaii Hawaii Public Utilities Commission [32] 3Appointed by the governor
Flag of Idaho.svg  Idaho Idaho Public Utilities Commission [33] 3Appointed by the governor
Flag of Illinois.svg  Illinois Illinois Commerce Commission [34] 5Appointed by the governor
Flag of Indiana.svg  Indiana Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission [35] 5Appointed by the governor
Flag of Iowa.svg  Iowa Iowa Utilities Board [36] 3Appointed by the governor
Flag of Kansas.svg  Kansas Kansas Corporation Commission [37] 3Appointed by the governor
Flag of Kentucky.svg  Kentucky Kentucky Public Service Commission [38] 3Appointed by the governor
Flag of Maine.svg  Maine Maine Public Utilities Commission [39] 3Appointed by the governor
Flag of Maryland.svg  Maryland Maryland Public Service Commission [40] 5Appointed by the governor
Flag of Massachusetts.svg  Massachusetts Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities [41] 3Appointed by the governor
Flag of Massachusetts.svg  Massachusetts Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable [42] Appointed by the governor
Flag of Michigan.svg  Michigan Michigan Public Service Commission [43] 3Appointed by the governor
Flag of Minnesota.svg  Minnesota Minnesota Public Utilities Commission [44] 5Appointed by the governor
Flag of Missouri.svg  Missouri Missouri Public Service Commission [45] 5Appointed by the governor
Flag of Nevada.svg  Nevada Nevada Public Utilities Commission [46] 3Appointed by the governor
Flag of New Hampshire.svg  New Hampshire New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission [47] 3Appointed by the governor
Flag of New Jersey.svg  New Jersey New Jersey Board of Public Utilities [48] 5Appointed by the governor
Flag of New York.svg  New York New York Public Service Commission [49] 7Appointed by the governor
Flag of North Carolina.svg  North Carolina North Carolina Utilities Commission [50] 7Appointed by the governor
Flag of Ohio.svg  Ohio Public Utilities Commission of Ohio [51] 5Appointed by the governor
Flag of Oregon.svg  Oregon Oregon Public Utility Commission [52] 3Appointed by the governor
Flag of Pennsylvania.svg  Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission [53] Appointed by the governor
Flag of Rhode Island.svg  Rhode Island Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission [54] Appointed by the governor
Flag of Tennessee.svg  Tennessee Tennessee Public Service Commission (1897–1996)

Tennessee Regulatory Authority (since 1996)

3Appointed by the governor
Flag of Texas.svg  Texas Railroad Commission of Texas [55] 3Elected at-large
Flag of Texas.svg  Texas Texas Public Utility Commission [56] 5Appointed by the governor
Flag of Utah.svg  Utah Utah Public Service Commission [57] 3Appointed by the governor
Flag of Vermont.svg  Vermont Vermont Department of Public Service [58] Appointed by the governor
Flag of Vermont.svg  Vermont Vermont Public Utility Commission [59] 3Appointed by the governor
Flag of the United States Virgin Islands.svg  Virgin Islands Virgin Islands Public Services Commission [60] Appointed by the governor
Flag of Washington.svg  Washington Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission [61] 3Appointed by the governor
Flag of West Virginia.svg  West Virginia West Virginia Public Service Commission [62] 3Appointed by the governor
Flag of Wisconsin.svg  Wisconsin Public Service Commission of Wisconsin [63] 3Appointed by the governor
Flag of Wyoming.svg  Wyoming Wyoming Public Service Commission [64] 3Appointed by the governor

Local PUCs

JurisdictionOrganizationMembersSelection of commissioners
Flag of San Francisco.svg  San Francisco San Francisco Public Utilities Commission [65] 3Nominated by the Mayor and confirmed by the SF Board of Supervisors

Other countries

Americas
Others

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