public utility

noun

1. a business enterprise, as a public-service corporation, performing an essential public service and regulated by the federal, state, or local government.

2. Usually public utilities. stocks or bonds of public-utility companies, excluding railroads.

public utility

noun

1. Also called (US): public-service corporation. an enterprise concerned with the provision to the public of essentials, such as electricity or water

public utility

1. A private company supplying water, gas, electricity, telephone service, or the like, which is granted a monopoly by the government and then regulated by the government.

Other Word Forms

• public-utility adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of public utility¹

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

More recently, the public utility said it couldn’t provide a price tag, and that, although possible, undergrounding transmission lines is rare, complex and expensive.

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“Huge profits shouldn’t be made from a public utility that everyone needs,” wrote Sharon K of Fullerton, who also declined to give her last name.

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City Council created a task force in partnership with the Los Angeles Police Department and the Bureau of Street Lighting to curb copper wire theft from public utilities.

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The list was compiled with information from car and solar panel companies, public utilities, homeowners and the Department of Motor Vehicles.

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Investors in public utilities know they’re at the mercy of Mother Nature when it comes to wildfires, but still choose to invest because electricity is a universal need.

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