California has many powerful state agencies that impact the lives of millions. One of the most powerful, but perhaps less known or understood, is the California Public Utilities Commission.The CPUC was created in 1911 after a constitutional amendment was approved by voters to reorganize the Railroad Commission, which was established decades earlier to regulate the state’s powerful railroad industry. In 1912, the Legislature passed the Public Utilities Act, expanding Railroad Commission authority to regulate utilities such as gas, electric and telephone companies. In 1946, voters approved renaming the Railroad Commission the California Public Utilities Commission.The CPUC has sole authority to establish rates charged by investor-owned utilities under its authority through its “r
