Definition

Noun: A company that provides essential services to the public, such as utilities (e.g., electricity, water, gas, transportation), and is typically granted a monopoly in a specific area in exchange for being subject to government regulation and oversight.

Usage

This term is used to describe a specific type of business entity whose primary purpose is to serve the public good rather than solely maximize profit. Its operations and pricing are often controlled by a government commission. - The state commission oversees the rates charged by the public-service corporation that provides our electricity. - Before the deregulation, the local telephone company was a regulated public-service corporation.

Advanced Usage

• Regulatory Compact: The concept that a public-service corporation accepts government regulation in return for the right to operate as a monopoly in a defined territory.
  • The public-service corporation operates under a regulatory compact with the state.

Variants and Related Words

• Utility Company (or Public Utility): A very common synonym for a public-service corporation, especially one providing electricity, gas, or water.
  • The utility company is a public-service corporation regulated by the city.
• Common Carrier: A type of public-service corporation that transports people or goods for the general public, such as a railroad or airline (subject to specific regulations).
  • The railway was classified as a common carrier, a form of public-service corporation.

Synonyms

• Utility
• Public Utility
• Regulated Monopoly

Related Phrases

• Rate Base: The value of property on which a public-service corporation is permitted to earn a specified rate of return, as determined by a regulator.
  • The commission is reviewing the public-service corporation's proposed rate base.
• Service Territory: The geographical area in which a public-service corporation is authorized to operate.
  • The public-service corporation cannot refuse service to a customer within its designated service territory.

Noun

1. a company that performs a public service; subject to government regulation