{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.public-utilities-commission","code":"thing-q1125930","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q1125930/","name":"public utilities commission","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.2","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Society, people and institutions","entryKind":"thing","plane":"SOC","domain":["SOC.ECO"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A government body in the United States, typically at state level, that regulates providers of essential services such as electricity, gas, water, telecommunications and sometimes transport, by approving rates, service standards and investments, licensing providers and handling consumer complaints; commissioners are elected or appointed, proceedings are quasi-judicial, and the commissions balance affordability, reliability and investment.","purpose":"Let an agent explain public utilities commissions and their powers, describe rate-setting and consumer protection processes, identify the commission for a jurisdiction with sources, and present regulatory debates with attribution.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Rate regulation","Quasi-judicial process","Consumer protection","Sector scope"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What commissions do.","layers":[{"id":"powers","name":"Powers","description":"Powers and scope.","findings":[{"id":"powers-finding","name":"Powers","description":"Powers.","questions":[{"text":"What powers do public utilities commissions hold over rates, service, licensing and investment, and which sectors do they cover?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits a specific commission?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"process","name":"Process","description":"Rate cases and hearings.","findings":[{"id":"process-finding","name":"Process","description":"Process.","questions":[{"text":"How does a rate case proceed, and how do consumers and intervenors participate?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits utility rate regulation?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"consumer","name":"Consumer","description":"Consumers and complaints.","layers":[{"id":"complaints","name":"Complaints","description":"Complaints.","findings":[{"id":"complaints-finding","name":"Complaints","description":"Complaints.","questions":[{"text":"How can consumers file complaints about utilities, and what protections exist against disconnection?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is legal advice needed from a professional?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"bills","name":"Bills","description":"Understanding regulated bills.","findings":[{"id":"bills-finding","name":"Bills","description":"Bills.","questions":[{"text":"How do approved rates appear on utility bills, and where are tariffs published?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits a specific utility?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"policy","name":"Policy","description":"Policy and debates.","layers":[{"id":"transition","name":"Transition","description":"Energy transition.","findings":[{"id":"transition-finding","name":"Transition","description":"Transition.","questions":[{"text":"How do commissions handle renewable energy, grid investment and affordability, and what debates exist, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"capture","name":"Capture","description":"Independence and capture.","findings":[{"id":"capture-finding","name":"Capture","description":"Independence.","questions":[{"text":"What does research say about regulatory capture and commissioner selection?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which findings are contested?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"learn","name":"Learn","description":"History and teaching.","layers":[{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did utility commissions develop from early railroad and utility regulation?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"teach","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","findings":[{"id":"teach-finding","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","questions":[{"text":"How can utility regulation be taught?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which misconceptions arise?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain what a public utilities commission regulates and how its proceedings work.","Summarise published rate decisions and orders with docket references.","Help consumers find how to file a complaint with the commission."],"mustNot":["Present a proposed rate as approved before the commission has decided.","File comments or complaints in a person's name without authorization.","Misrepresent a utility's rights to disconnect service.","Conceal its interest when it acts for a utility in a proceeding."],"requiresHuman":["Filing in a commission proceeding on behalf of a person or organization."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Commission decisions set prices for essentials such as power and water that households cannot do without.","Low-income households are most exposed to rate rises and disconnections."],"affectedParties":["Utility customers","Low-income households","Utilities and their workers"]},"owners":{"steward":"The government in the United States that establishes it, typically a state government; each commission keeps its own docket records.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["Commission docket and filing systems maintain regulatory records."]},"relations":[{"target":"Q17456916","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"government commission","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"water-rate","type":"related","note":"regulated charges"},{"target":"service provider","type":"related","note":"regulated providers"},{"target":"county commission","type":"related","note":"another commission entry"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.public-utilities-commission","Wikidata: Q1125930 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1125930)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["The commission regulates utility rates and service.","It typically operates at state level in the United States.","A utility is the regulated company, while a federal regulator covers interstate matters.","Not physical; a regulatory body holding hearings."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain powers","describe rate-setting and complaints","identify jurisdiction commissions","present debates"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Regulatory capture","Affordability failures","Confusing state and federal jurisdiction"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["State and provincial utility laws","Rate case procedures","Federal regulation for interstate matters"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Regulators of utility services.","state public utilities commissions","public service commissions","provincial utility boards","commissions with elected commissioners","sector-specific regulators"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q1125930: public utilities commission","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1125930","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Public utilities commission","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_utilities_commission","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should each commission be a separate entry?","How should commission websites be linked?","How should rate case data be linked?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q1125930/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q1125930/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T01:16:06Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T12:16:28+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane SOC: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}