Why California Calls the Public Utilities Commission Whenever We Face an Impossible Mess

In a State That Wants to Regulate Everything, the PUC Does the Work Politicians Don’t Want to Do

Don’t be surprised if, very soon, the California Public Utilities Commission is put in charge of making the Oakland Raiders winners again, managing Kanye’s award show appearances, or preventing In-N-Out fries from turning soggy.

After all, the PUC already has been assigned responsibility for nearly every other wickedly difficult problem in California.

Are we asking too much of the PUC? Perhaps, but this is almost certainly how things have to be in a state whose citizens and government agencies routinely dodge the most complicated challenges. The PUC is full of smart …