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.
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:
- Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities (Newfoundland and Labrador)[2]
- British Columbia Utilities Commission[3]
- Manitoba Public Utilities Board[4]
- New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board[5]
- Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board[6]
- Ontario Energy Board[7]
- PEI Regulatory and Appeals Commission[8]
Former commissions in Ontario include:
- Berlin Public Utilities Commission (1906–1916) in Berlin, Ontario
- Brantford Public Utilities Commission (–2001) in Brantford, Ontario
- Galt Public Utilities Commission (1962–1973) in Galt, Ontario
- Kitchener Public Utilities Commission (1916–1973)
United States
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
Local PUCs
| Jurisdiction | Organization | Members | Selection of commissioners |
|---|---|---|---|
 San Francisco | San Francisco Public Utilities Commission[65] | 3 | Nominated by the Mayor and confirmed by the SF Board of Supervisors |
Other countries
- Americas
- Bahamas: Bahamas Public Utilities Commission[66]
- Belize: Belize Public Utilities Commission[67]
- Caribbean: Organisation of Caribbean Utility Regulators (OOCUR)[68]
- Chile: Superintendencia de Servicios Sanitarios de Chile[69]
- Costa Rica: Costa Rica Public Utilities Commission[70]
- Dominican Republic: c Utilities Commission
- Others
- France: Commission de Régulation de l'Energie[71]
- Ghana: Public Utility Regulation Council of Ghana (PURC)[72]
- Sri Lanka: Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka[73]
References
External links
- Public Service Commissioner (state executive office) - List of current commissioners from Ballotpedia
- List of regulatory commissions by state compiled by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.