Public Utilities Commission of Ohio
Encyclopedia
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) is an agency of State of Ohio
that is charged with the regulation
of utility service providers such as those of electricity
, natural gas
, and telecommunications as well as railroad safety
and intrastate hazardous materials transport
.
There are several ways by which the Commission attempts to do this:
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
that is charged with the regulation
Regulation
Regulation is administrative legislation that constitutes or constrains rights and allocates responsibilities. It can be distinguished from primary legislation on the one hand and judge-made law on the other...
of utility service providers such as those of electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
, natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
, and telecommunications as well as railroad safety
Safety
Safety is the state of being "safe" , the condition of being protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be...
and intrastate hazardous materials transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
.
There are several ways by which the Commission attempts to do this:
- Enforcement of laws against service deemed unfairUnfairUnfair may refer to:* The negative form of the adjective fair* Unfair , Japanese television series* Unfair: The Movie...
or unsafe - Resolving disputes between utilities and residential, business, and industrial customers, as well as between competing utilities.
- Assuring availability of residential, business, and industrial utility services
- Providing consumerConsumerConsumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.-Economics and marketing:...
s with relevantRelevantRelevant may refer to:* Relevant operator, a concept in physics, see renormalization group* Relevant, Ain, a commune of the Ain département in France* Relevant Magazine, an American religious publication...
informationInformationInformation in its most restricted technical sense is a message or collection of messages that consists of an ordered sequence of symbols, or it is the meaning that can be interpreted from such a message or collection of messages. Information can be recorded or transmitted. It can be recorded as...
about their rights and responsibilities - Regulating rates for utility services in which there is little to no competitionCompetitionCompetition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
(i.e. electricity and natural gas services)
Commissioners
There are five commissioners (one of whom serves as chairman) as well as approximately 400 agency employees. Each commissioner is appointed by the residing governor to a five-year term. Current commissioners are:- Todd Snitchler (chair), through April 2014
- Paul Centolella, through April 2012
- Andre T. Porter, through April 2016
- Steven D. Lesser, through April 2015
- Cheryl Roberto, through April 2013