Electric Utilities, Deregulation and Restructuring of U.S. Electricity ...

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A Utility Defined
What is a utility? Typically, a utility provides a
commodity or service that is considered vital to the
general public such as power, water, or natural gas.
Utility service is a vital need.
It is deemed by state & federal lawmakers to be in
the public interest to regulate its provision. To
prevent price gouging & encourage widespread
access, the government has granted individual
utilities certain monopoly rights, accompanied by the
right to regulate price as well as service terms &
conditions.