U.S. electric utility ownership types

Investor-owned electric distribution companies served 72% of U.S. electricity customers in 2017 according to federal data, even though investor-owned utilities accounted for just 168 out of nearly 3,000 electric utilities.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration categorizes electric utilities into three groups based on their ownership type: investor-owned utilities, publicly owned utilities, and cooperatives. Stock in investor-owned utilities is owned by shareholders; publicly owned utilities include those run by federal, state and municipal entities; cooperatives are not-for-profit utilities owned by their customer-members.

Of the nearly 3,000 electric distribution companies operating in the United States in 2017, just 168 were investor-owned -- but these investor-owned utilities or IOUs tend to be much larger than others, serving an average of 654,600 customers, and in the aggregate providing power to nearly three-quarters of all U.S. electricity customers. According to EIA, IOUs tend to be concentrated in heavily populated areas on the East and West coasts. For example, two California utilities each serve over 5 million electricity customers.

Publicly owned utilities are most numerous, with 1,958 operating in 2017 according to EIA data. On average, each publicly owned utility services 12,100 electricity customers, or about 15% of all U.S. electricity customers in total.

812 electric cooperatives or co-ops are located across 47 U.S. states, serving an average of 24,500 electricity customers each. Interest in cooperative and publicly owned utility forms is increasing, as consumers and policymakers look for structures that balance economic and environmental efficiencies against responsiveness and local control.