3.1 Regulatory Environment Affecting Distribution Utilities

3.1.1 Regulatory Structures

Unlike most other countries, the U.S. has many regulatory bodies with different jurisdictions.  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has jurisdiction over interstate electricity sales and wholesale electric rates, which affect primarily the bulk power system.  Each state has a public utility regulatory authority (state commission) that has jurisdiction over the tariffs and services for certain utilities, such as investor owned utilities, and/or over any retail energy markets.  Municipal utilities are owned by the municipality while electric cooperatives are owned by their customers. These usually smaller utilities are governed by different regulatory structures such as city ordinances or charters.  Similarly, the federally-owned utilities (Bonneville Power Administration, Tennessee Valley Authority, and Western Area Power Administration) have unique governance structures that set them apart from the remainder of the bulk grid.