In the United States, it is a governing body of a utility. In Canada, it is a utility, not a regulatory body.

Canada

In Canada, a public utilities commission (PUC) is a

public utility A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...

owned and operated by a municipal or local government under the oversight of one or more elected commissioners. It is not a regulatory body. Its role is analogous to a

municipal utility district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

public utility district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

in the US. *

Brantford Public Utilities Commission {{short description, Former municipal commission in Brantford, Ontario, Canada The Brantford Public Utilities Commission was the municipal public utilities commission for Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Once a powerful body in the city, it was dismantle ...

Kitchener Public Utilities Commission The Kitchener Public Utilities Commission (KPUC, or PUC) was the municipal public utilities commission for the city of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, as well as the surrounding area. Its former office in downtown Kitchener, constructed in 1931 in ...

Regulatory bodies

The utility that is being regulated 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.

Countries

;Americas * Caribbean:

Organisation of Caribbean Utility Regulators An organization or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is an legal entity, entity—such as ...

(OOCUR) * Costa Rica: Costa Rica Public Utilities Commission *Dominican Republic: c Utilities Commission * Bahamas: Bahamas Public Utilities Commission * Belize:

Belize Public Utilities Commission Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) is the primary distributor of electricity in Belize, Central America. Aggregate energy sold was approximately 588.4 gigawatt hours (GWh) in 2019, up from 554.4 GWh in 2018. The Company served a customer base of ov ...

* Chile: Superintendencia de Servicios Sanitarios de Chile ;Europe * France: Commission de Régulation de l'Energie ;Africa * Ghana: Public Utility Regulation Council of Ghana (PURC) ;Asia * Sri Lanka: Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka

United States

In the United States, a utilities commission, utility regulatory commission (URC), public utilities commission (PUC), or public service commission (PSC) is a governing body that regulates the rates and services of a

, such as an

electric utility An electric utility is a company in the electric power industry (often a public utility) that engages in electricity generation and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. The electrical utility industry is a majo ...

. 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 is the national association representing the interests of the public utilities commissions in all 50 states. The

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to elimina ...

and

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...

perform similar functions in their respective fields in the United States.

Elected by district

Louisiana Public Service Commission The Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) is an independent regulatory agency which manages public utilities and motor carriers in Louisiana. The commission has five elected members chosen in single-member districts for staggered six-year te ...

* Mississippi Public Service Commission * Montana Public Service Commission * Nebraska Public Service Commission * New Mexico Public Regulation Commission

Elected at-large

Alabama Public Service Commission The Alabama Public Service Commission, commonly called the PSC, was established by an act of the Alabama Legislature in 1915 to primarily replace the State Railroad Commission. The PSC's responsibility was expanded in 1920 to include regulating ...

* Arizona Corporation Commission * Georgia Public Service Commission * New England Conference of Public Utilities * North Dakota Public Service Commission *

Oklahoma Corporation Commission 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 teleph ...

* South Dakota Public Utilities Commission

Legislative appointment

South Carolina Public Service Commission 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 PS ...

* Virginia State Corporation Commission

Appointed by the governor

Regulatory Commission of Alaska Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...

Arkansas Public Service Commission The Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) regulates the service and rates of those utilities subject to its jurisdiction in the State of Arkansas, United States. It was originally created by the Arkansas General Assembly on March 11, 1899, as ...

* California Public Utilities Commission **

San Francisco Public Utilities Commission The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is a public agency of the City and County of San Francisco that provides water, wastewater, and electric power services to the city and an additional 1.9 million customers within three San Fran ...

nominated by the

Mayor of San Francisco The mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the executive branch of the San Francisco city and county government. The officeholder has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by ...

and confirmed by the

San Francisco Board of Supervisors The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco. Government and politics The City and County of San Francisco is a consolidated city-county, being simultaneously a c ...

Colorado Public Utilities Commission The Public Utilities Commission of the State of Colorado (PUC) provides regulatory oversight of public utilities in the State of Colorado of the United States. The Colorado PUC consists of a director and three commissioners appointed by the Gove ...

* Connecticut ** Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection ** Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority ** Connecticut Siting Council * Delaware Public Service Commission *

District of Columbia Public Service Commission The District of Columbia Public Service Commission (formerly the District of Columbia Public Utilities Commission) is an independent quasi-judicial body and regulatory agency responsible for regulating landline telephone, electricity, and gas utili ...

Florida Public Service Commission 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 ...

Hawaii Public Utilities Commission The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (HPUC) is a public utilities commission, a quasi-judicial tribunal, which regulates public service companies operating in the U.S. state of Hawaii. In 2017 HPUC authorized smart inverters to increase grid st ...

Idaho Public Utilities Commission The Idaho Public Utilities Commission is a public utilities commission, a quasi-judicial tribunal, which regulates investor-owned or privately owned utilities that provide gas, water, electricity, or telephone service for profit in the U.S. state ...

* Illinois Commerce Commission *

Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission 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 commission regulates electric, natural gas, telecommunications, steam, water an ...

Iowa Utilities Board The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) is a 3-member public utilities commission, with beginnings in 1878. It is a quasi-judicial tribunal, which regulates services and rates of electric, natural gas, water and telecommunication providers in the U.S. state ...

Kansas Corporation Commission The Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) is the public utilities commission of the state of Kansas run by three Commissioners appointed by the Governor with the approval of the Senate. The Commission has the responsibility of ensuring that natural g ...

* Kentucky Public Service Commission *

Maine Public Utilities Commission The Maine Public Utilities Commission is a government agency that regulates water, electric, natural gas, and telecommunications in the state of Maine. The commission also oversees ferries and water taxis in Casco Bay. The three full-time comm ...

* Maryland Public Service Commission *

Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities is one of two Public Utilities Commissions of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts ( Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃə ...

Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

Michigan Public Service Commission The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) is a regulatory agency which regulates public utilities in the state of Michigan, including electric power, telecommunications, and natural gas services. The MPSC's headquarters are located in Lansing, ...

* Minnesota Public Utilities Commission *

Missouri Public Service Commission The Missouri Public Service Commission regulates investor-owned telephone, electric, natural gas, steam, water, and sewer utilities in the state of Missouri. Manufacturers and retail dealers who sell new and used manufactured homes and modular un ...

Nevada Public Utilities Commission The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada supervises and regulates the operation and maintenance of utility services in Nevada. The agency has two headquarters, one in Carson City () and one in Las Vegas (). History The Railroad Commission of Ne ...

New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (NHPUC) is a government agency of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Headquartered in Concord, it is a public utilities commission with jurisdiction over electric, natural gas, water and sewer utilitie ...

New Jersey Board of Public Utilities The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) is a regulatory authority in New Jersey "with authority to oversee the regulated utilities, which in turn provide critical services such as natural gas, electricity, water, telecommunications and c ...

* New York Public Service Commission * North Carolina Utilities Commission * Public Utilities Commission of Ohio *

Oregon Public Utility Commission The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) is the chief electric, gas and telephone utility regulatory agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. It sets rates and establishes rules of operation for the state's investor-owned utility ...

Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) is the public utility commission in Pennsylvania. It is composed of five commissioners, appointed by the Governor with the consent of the state Senate. The PUC oversees public utility and services opera ...

* Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission * Tennessee Public Service Commission (1897-1996) **

Tennessee Regulatory Authority The Tennessee Public Utility Commission (TPUC) is the Tennessee governmental unit charged with the responsibility of setting rates and service standards for privately owned telephone, natural gas, electric, and water utilities. History The Tennes ...

(since 1996) * Texas Public Utility Commission * Utah Public Service Commission * Vermont ** Vermont Department of Public Service ** Vermont Public Utility Commission * Virgin Islands Public Services Commission *

Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) is a three-member board appointed by the Governor of Washington and confirmed by the Washington State Senate to six-year terms. The purpose of the UTC is to regulate the rates, services, ...

West Virginia Public Service Commission The Public Service Commission of West Virginia is the Public Utilities Commission of the State of West Virginia, U.S.A. Operation Chairman Charlotte Lane, Renee Larrick, and Bill Raney are the three commissioners. These positions are political a ...

Public Service Commission of Wisconsin 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 regul ...

* Wyoming Public Service Commission

Canada

Ontario Energy Board The Ontario Energy Board regulates natural gas and electricity utilities in the province of Ontario, Canada. This includes setting rates, and licensing all participants in the electricity sector including the Independent Electricity System Opera ...

British Columbia Utilities Commission The British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) is an independent agency of the government of the Province of British Columbia responsible for regulating rates and standards of service quality. The Commission's primary responsibility is the regu ...

* Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board * Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities * Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission * New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board * Manitoba Public Utilities Board

References

External links

Public Service Commissioner (state executive office)
- List of current commissioners from

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

List of regulatory commissions
by state compiled by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. {{authority control Economics of regulation Public utilities Government agencies by type