What Is a Publicly Owned Utility?

California is served by three different utility models, each with distinct characteristics. Publicly Owned Utilities (POUs) and Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs) have served California for more than a century. More recently, Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs) are being created to give local communities an even bigger voice in their energy future. Here are the basics about these different models.

Publicly Owned Utilities (POUs)

Our Driving Principle: Think Globally, Act Locally

POUs achieve a balance between:

Needs of the local community
Sustainability of resources to build a low-carbon power supply
Reliability of the grid
Affordability of energy
Innovation to become more efficient
Creating local jobs

Our Future: Leading innovation, addressing community needs and investing in local economic development

POU Structure and Oversight at a Glance

Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs)

Their Driving Principle: Profits to Shareholders

IOUs achieve a balance between:

Maximizing shareholder return
Reliability of the grid
Adopting technologies as required by regulation
Affordability of energy

Their Future: Business model shifting toward becoming electric distribution (wires) companies only

IOU Structure and Governance at a Glance

Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs)

Their Driving Principle: Sustainable Power Supply

CCAs achieve a balance between:
• Delivering low-carbon power
• Needs of the local community
• Innovation to become more efficient
• Creating local jobs

Their Future: Growing rapidly, formed by local and regional governments, predicted to supply 85% of IOU customers