Dictionary
pub'lic util'ity
1. a business enterprise, as a public-service corporation, performing an essential public service and regulated by the federal, state, or local government. Cf.
utility (def. 3).
2. Usually,
public utilities. stocks or bonds of public-utility companies, excluding railroads.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.