# Public utilities commission

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. 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)
* British Columbia Utilities Commission
* Manitoba Public Utilities Board
* New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board
* Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board
* Ontario Energy Board
* PEI Regulatory and Appeals Commission
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), which may also be named a public service commission (PSC), corporation commission, or similar, 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 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.

### PUCs in the US by state

| Jurisdiction | Organization | Members | Selection of commissioners |
| Mississippi | Mississippi Public Service Commission | 3 | Elected by district |
| Montana | Montana Public Service Commission | 5 | Elected by district |
| Nebraska | Nebraska Public Service Commission | 5 | Elected by district |
| Alabama | Alabama Public Service Commission | 3 | Elected at-large |
| Arizona | Arizona Corporation Commission | 5 | Elected at-large |
| New Mexico | New Mexico Public Regulation Commission | 3 | Appointed by the governor |
| Louisiana | Louisiana Public Service Commission | 5 | Elected by district |
| North Dakota | North Dakota Public Service Commission | 3 | Elected at-large |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma Corporation Commission | 3 | Elected at-large |
| South Dakota | South Dakota Public Utilities Commission | 3 | Elected at-large |
| Alaska | Regulatory Commission of Alaska | | Appointed by the governor |
| Arkansas | Arkansas Public Service Commission | 3 | Appointed by the governor |
| California | California Public Utilities Commission | 5 | Appointed by the governor |
| South Carolina | South Carolina Public Service Commission | 7 | Legislative appointment |
| Colorado | Colorado Public Utilities Commission | 3 | Appointed by the governor |
| Connecticut | Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority | | Appointed by the governor |
| Delaware | Delaware Public Service Commission | 5 | Appointed by the governor |
| DC | District of Columbia Public Service Commission | 3 | Appointed by the mayor |
| Florida | Florida Public Service Commission | 5 | Appointed by the governor |
| Georgia (U.S. state) | Georgia Public Service Commission | 5 | Elected at-large from residency districts |
| Hawaii | Hawaii Public Utilities Commission | 3 | Appointed by the governor |
| Idaho | Idaho Public Utilities Commission | 3 | Appointed by the governor |
| Illinois | Illinois Commerce Commission | 5 | Appointed by the governor |
| Indiana | Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission | 5 | Appointed by the governor |
| Iowa | Iowa Utilities Board | 3 | Appointed by the governor |
| Kansas | Kansas Corporation Commission | 3 | Appointed by the governor |
| Kentucky | Kentucky Public Service Commission | 3 | Appointed by the governor |
| Maine | Maine Public Utilities Commission | 3 | Appointed by the governor |
| Maryland | Maryland Public Service Commission | 5 | Appointed by the governor |
| Massachusetts | Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities | 3 | Appointed by the governor |
| Massachusetts | Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable | | Appointed by the governor |
| Michigan | Michigan Public Service Commission | 3 | Appointed by the governor |
| Minnesota | Minnesota Public Utilities Commission | 5 | Appointed by the governor |
| Missouri | Missouri Public Service Commission | 5 | Appointed by the governor |
| Nevada | Nevada Public Utilities Commission | 3 | Appointed by the governor |
| New Hampshire | New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission | 3 | Appointed by the governor |
| New Jersey | New Jersey Board of Public Utilities | 5 | Appointed by the governor |
| New York | New York Public Service Commission | 7 | Appointed by the governor |
| North Carolina | North Carolina Utilities Commission | 7 | Appointed by the governor |
| Ohio | Public Utilities Commission of Ohio | 5 | Appointed by the governor |
| Oregon | Oregon Public Utility Commission | 3 | Appointed by the governor |
| Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission | | Appointed by the governor |
| Rhode Island | Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission | | Appointed by the governor |
| Tennessee | Tennessee Public Service Commission (1897–1996) Tennessee Regulatory Authority (since 1996) | 3 | Appointed by the governor |
| Texas | Railroad Commission of Texas | 3 | Elected at-large |
| Texas | Texas Public Utility Commission | 5 | Appointed by the governor |
| Utah | Utah Public Service Commission | 3 | Appointed by the governor |
| Vermont | Vermont Department of Public Service | | Appointed by the governor |
| Vermont | Vermont Public Utility Commission | 3 | Appointed by the governor |
| Virginia | Virginia State Corporation Commission | 3 | Legislative appointment |
| Virgin Islands | Virgin Islands Public Services Commission | 5 | Appointed by the governor, with two additional ex-officio members appointed by the senate president |
| Washington | Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission | 3 | Appointed by the governor |
| West Virginia | West Virginia Public Service Commission | 3 | Appointed by the governor |
| Wisconsin | Public Service Commission of Wisconsin | 3 | Appointed by the governor |
| Wyoming | Wyoming Public Service Commission | 3 | Appointed by the governor |

### Local PUCs

| Jurisdiction | Organization | Members | Selection of commissioners |
| San Francisco | San Francisco Public Utilities Commission | 3 | Nominated by the Mayor and confirmed by the SF Board of Supervisors |

## Other countries
### Americas

* Bahamas: Bahamas Public Utilities Commission
* Belize: Belize Public Utilities Commission
* Caribbean: Organisation of Caribbean Utility Regulators (OOCUR)
* Chile: Superintendencia de Servicios Sanitarios de Chile
* Costa Rica: Costa Rica Public Utilities Commission
* Dominican Republic: c Utilities Commission

### Others

* France: Commission de Régulation de l'Energie
* Ghana: Public Utility Regulation Council of Ghana (PURC)
* Sri Lanka: Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka