Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission

Who We Are The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) is a three-member commission appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state senate. Our Mission is to protect the people of Washington by ensuring investor-owned utility and transportation services are safe, equitable, available, reliable and fairly priced. Our Vision is to strive to achieve equitable and fair outcomes as a regulator of utility and transportation services and prioritize inclusion and belonging in the workplace. Regulated Industries include electric, telecommunications, natural gas, water, and transportation. The commission regulates intrastate residential household movers, solid waste collection companies, private ferries, as well as the safety of charter buses, railroads, railroad crew transportation, and transportation for persons with special needs such as private, non-profit transportation providers. Washington State law requires that utility and transportation rates must be reasonable to customers, giving regulated companies a chance to cover legitimate costs and earn a fair profit, so they can stay in business. What is fair to the company, and at the same time fair to the people and businesses it serves, is what the commission must decide many times over. Cases are heard in a formal, legal setting, with the commission hearing evidence from all sides before issuing a decision. For most of our state's history, private utilities and carriers providing public services usually have been monopolies. If they had been left unregulated, without the restraints of the free-market system, they would have had unchecked power over the state's most essential services.