public utility

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 The companies also face a challenge in California, where the state public utilities commission has yet to approve the merger. — Sarah Krouse, WSJ, "Sprint Continues to Lose Customers as It Waits for T-Mobile Verdict," 27 Jan. 2020 Regulators chastised the company's CEO at an emergency meeting of California's public utility commission Friday for taking such an extreme precautionary measure. — Carter Evans, CBS News, "Regulators slam PG&E CEO for claiming California blackouts could continue for another decade," 19 Oct. 2019 China’s national and provincial governments as well as California’s public utilities commission, air resources board and other key climate decision makers will work with the institute. — Washington Post, "California, China to team up on climate research institute," 23 Sep. 2019 The award recognizes public utility managers for leading their organizations to new levels of excellence. — Robert Higgs, cleveland, "Cleveland Public Power Commissioner resigns post after more than a decade at the helm," 12 Dec. 2019 There are no public utilities, and no reliable sources of food or drinking water. — Kirk Semple, New York Times, "On Dorian-Battered Island, What’s Left? Virtually Nothing," 6 Sep. 2019 The area has also been plagued by regular power blackouts, implemented by the state's public utility PG&E during high wind events to avoid causing future blazes, which have bankrupted the utility. — Dave Brooks, Billboard, "Cannabis' Top Festival Celebrates This Weekend as Competition Concerns, Global Warming Loom," 12 Dec. 2019 The California Energy Commission delayed a vote Wednesday on a controversial proposal by Sacramento’s public utility to side-step a state’s requirement that most new homes have solar panels starting next year. — Mallory Moench, SFChronicle.com, "California regulators debate, delay vote on rooftop solar mandate exemption," 13 Nov. 2019 This system was initially developed after World War II to support people with physically arduous jobs, like sailors and public utility workers. — Annabelle Timsit, Quartz, "The “warlike semantics” of reforming France’s convoluted pension system," 12 Dec. 2019

These 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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Dictionary Entries near public utility

public transportation

public warehouse

Statistics for public utility

Last Updated

13 Feb 2020

Cite this Entry

“Public utility.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/public%20utility. Accessed 22 Feb. 2020.

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More Definitions for public utility

public utility

noun

English Language Learners Definition of public utility

: a company (such as an electric company) that provides a public service and must follow special rules made by the government

See the full definition for public utility in the English Language Learners Dictionary

public utility

Legal Definition of public utility

: a business organization (as an electric company) performing a public service and subject to special government regulation

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