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Definition of public utility
: a business organization (such as an electric company) performing a public service and subject to special governmental regulation
Examples of public utility in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web Craddock, 40, worked in the city’s public utilities department.
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San Diego Union-Tribune, "Police still searching for motive for Virginia mass shooting," 24 Sep. 2019 In 2019, following news that an Arizona woman had died after her power was shut off for non-payment, the Arizona Corporation Commission — which oversees public utilities — placed a moratorium on summertime power disconnections.
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Los Angeles Times, "Coronavirus could worsen death toll of summer heat waves, health officials warn," 5 May 2020 California’s public-utilities code states that no companies can merge or acquire any public utility doing business in the state without the commission’s approval, whether or not that firm is organized there.
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Sarah Krouse, WSJ, "California Regulators a Potential Obstacle to T-Mobile, Sprint Merger," 26 Jan. 2020 Similar work is happening in France, where public utility officials sampled sewage across greater Paris and confirmed a rise and fall in SARS-CoV-2 concentrations that corresponded to the shape of the outbreak.
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oregonlive, "Poop may tell us when the coronavirus lockdown will end," 30 Apr. 2020 Similar work is happening in France, where public utility officials sampled sewage across greater Paris and confirmed a rise and fall in SARS-CoV-2 concentrations that corresponded to the shape of the outbreak.
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Los Angeles Times, "Poop may tell us when the coronavirus lockdown will end," 29 Apr. 2020 Airlines were formerly regulated as a public utility by the Civil Aeronautics Board, which regimented routes and ticket prices.
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Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, "An Airline Bailout Should Have More Strings Attached Than a Harp," 11 Apr. 2020 Todd Reck, Irving’s director of public utilities, said through a spokesperson.
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Hunter Johnson, Dallas News, "Irving sees spike in sewer backups as residents flush items other than toilet paper," 3 Apr. 2020 The spread of the novel coronavirus around the world has made many of us shut-ins and proven conclusively that the internet should be a public utility.
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Ephrat Livni, Quartz, "The coronavirus crisis proves the internet should be a public utility," 26 Mar. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'public utility.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for public utility
The first known use of public utility was in 1895
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