Services covering a larger area were regulated by state legislatures through provisions in the company charters. As these businesses grew, this sort of regulation proved inadequate. The earliest objects of public regulation were railroads and grain elevators, whose discriminatory price policies came under attack in several Middle Western states in the 1860s. In practice, regulation aims to ensure that the utility serves all who apply for and are willing and able to pay for its services, that it operates in a safe and adequate manner, that it serves all customers on equal terms, and that its rates are just and reasonable. All states have regulatory commissions, and the federal government has several, including the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Civil Aeronautics Board, the Federal Power Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Federal agencies regulate utilities that provide service to more than one state.
Despite decades of experience with public regulation, some critics feel that regulation lacks any guiding philosophy or theory. Others maintain that the regulatory commissions are so smothered in red tape that they are years behind in their work. Still others feel that there is too much regulation and that the forces of competition should be relied upon to maintain service quality and fair pricing. In other countries many public utilities are nationalized, while some are administered by mixed companies financed with both public and private capital. Regardless of ownership, public utilities are, as a rule, accountable to the public to some extent, and their standards and prices are under statutory control.