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 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 or public utility district in the US. Brantford Public Utilities Commission Kitchener Public Utilities Commission 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 (OOCUR) Costa Rica: Costa Rica Public Utilities Commission Dominican Republic: c Utilities Commission Bahamas: Bahamas Public Utilities Commission Belize: Belize Public Utilities Commission 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 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. Elected by district Louisiana Public Service Commission Mississippi Public Service Commission Montana Public Service Commission Nebraska Public Service Commission New Mexico Public Regulation Commission Elected at-large Alabama Public Service Commission Arizona Corporation Commission Georgia Public Service Commission New England Conference of Public Utilities North Dakota Public Service Commission Oklahoma Corporation Commission South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Legislative appointment South Carolina Public Service Commission Virginia State Corporation Commission Appointed by the governor Regulatory Commission