A "Regulated Public Utility" like Pacific Graft and Explosion in California? What do you do when the state's Public Utility Regulators have their heads up their asses and just approve everything that the "Regulated Public Utility" wants to do (including every rate increase), or not do (in the case of maintaining and improving their facilities), because they have no idea how to run a utility? >: (
I am not sure what the solution is, but many politicians in California believe that having the government run utilities is the way to go. Kind of like having the Department of Motor Vehicles providing your electricity, gas and water.
Interestingly, in my city the government runs the sewerage disposal system and that seems to work well.
In Connecticut there are still a few small municipal utilities, essentially town run, that work quite well, but they're small and I doubt the model would work well on a large scale, there are to many variables and power generation and transmission work best when there is a strong, enforceable set of standards.
To my mind, having spent 32 years working for an electric utility, there are several issues. The first is that too many DPUC jobs are filled by patronage appointments, they're usually clueless and very often alternate between kowtowing to the utility they're supposed to regulate or display outright hostility to it. Both positions are untenable. The second problem is that in every case I can think off deregulation has been a disaster, in some cases less than others but overall I don't think it's worked out well, California and Texas being two prime examples.
Other issues are largely behind the scenes for example while the blue collar jobs at most utilities pay a very nice wage, especially where those jobs are union, it's very hard to find anyone to fill them, it's hard, dangerous work and always compromises your family life for the worst. Consequently few youngsters want to become linemen, electricians, or meter service mechanics because the work is hard, the hours long, and you're away from your family at the worst times. There is also the stigma of "working with your hands, " which is another discussion. Consequently most utilities are understaffed, which ironically benefits the bottom line, so companies turn a blind eye to it, meaning in emergency there aren't enough hands to do the work.
So what would fix it? First, the nation needs a coherent, rational energy plan, with one set of standards that every Utility would be bound to, right down to the right way of making a splice. Second, deregulation has to end, there are some industries that need regulation and the electrical business is one of them. I'd also suggest that electrical utilities should, to some degree, be nationalized, few services are more vital to our nations well being than a steady, reliable flow of electricity. To that end I think a national control board, even one with limited power, if you'll excuse the pun, would be better than what we now have.
Lastly elected officials must hold industry leaders accountable. At Connecticut Light and Power I think we had a good record on that. During my tenure quite a few high ranking officers, including a CEO were forced to resign because they performed poorly during storm restorations, or were caught in outright lies. That's as it should be but rarely is. whether that would solve all or even any of the problems is questionable, but at least it would make a good start.