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Pennsylvania State Archives

RG-37
Records of the PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION


The Public Utility Commission was created in 1937 to regulate the intrastate rates and services of public utilities. The Commission replaced the Public Service Commission, which had been charged with that responsibility since its establishment in 1913. Created in 1907 and given powers only in regard to common carriers, the Pennsylvania State Railroad Commission had been the Commonwealth's first public utility regulatory agency. The State Railroad Commission was abolished when the Public Service Commission was given the authority to regulate all public-service companies except those engaged in interstate commerce.

The jurisdiction of the Public Utility Commission extends to gas and oil pipeline transmission, common carriers of passengers or property (train, bus, truck, taxicab, aircraft and ferry), and gas, water, telephone, telegraph, electric, steam and sewerage companies. Utility services provided by municipalities beyond their corporate limits are also subject to Commission regulation.

Secretary's Bureau