EDUCATION - SECTOR DESCRIPTIONS - UTILITIES

A public utility (usually just utility in British English) is a company that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities often involve natural monopolies, and as a result are often government monopolies, or if privately owned, the sectors are specially regulated by a Public Utilities Commission.

Public utilities can be privately owned or publicly owned. Publicly owned utilities include cooperative and municipal utilities. Municipal utilities may actually include territories outside of city limits or may not even serve the entire city. Cooperative utilities are owned by the customers they serve. They are usually found in rural areas. Private utilities, also called investor owned utilities, are owned by investors. Unlike public companies, private utilities may be listed on the stock exchange. Private, in this context, means not owned by the public or the government.

In poorer developing countries, public utilities are often limited to wealthier parts of major cities, as used to be the case in developed countries in the nineteenth century. However, in some developing countries utilities do provide services to a large share of the urban population, such as in the case of water and sanitation in Latin America.

Examples of utilities are:
An electric utility, which in some instances can be electric power transmission or electricity distribution organizations.

Drinking water purification and distribution

Sewage treatment and disposal

Other waste disposal

Natural gas distribution

District heat generation and distribution

Public transport

Telecomunications, such as cable television and telephone lines

Roads, including tollways

Developments in technology have eroded some of the natural monopoly aspects of traditional public utilities. For instance, electricity generation, electricity retailing, telecommunication and postal services have become competitive in some countries and the trend towards liberalization, deregulation and privatization of public utilities is growing. However, the network infrastructure used to distribute most utility products and services has remained largely natural monopolostic.

Common classifications of utilities in the United States

CWD – County Water District
FCWCD – Flood Control and Water Conservation District
FWSD – Fresh Water Supply District
ID – Irrigation District
MWA – Municipal Water Authority
MWD – Municipal Water District
MUD – Municipal Utility District
PUD – Public Utility District
WA – Water Agency
WCID – Water Control and Improvement District
WD – Water District
WS – Water System
WSC – Water Supply Corporation