Arkansas Public Service Commission

What Arkansas Public Service Commission does

The Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) is an independent state regulatory agency headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, established by the General Assembly in 1899 as the Arkansas Railroad Commission and renamed to its current form in 1945. With 55 employees, the APSC regulates public utilities across electric, natural gas, water, telecommunications, and transportation network companies, and administers the state's federally delegated pipeline safety program. It oversees 24 electric utilities (including four investor-owned utilities, one generation and transmission cooperative, seventeen distribution cooperatives, and two Regional Transmission Organizations — MISO and SPP), four natural gas utilities, two water utilities, and more than 163 master meter gas systems covering 1,761 miles of intrastate gas transmission pipelines, 20,352 miles of distribution mains, and 676,413 service lines. The Commission's Consumer Services Office handles over 50,000 questions and complaints annually, and its Tax Division performs annual property tax assessments for over 60,300 public utilities and carriers operating in Arkansas.

The APSC exercises quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial authority to set just and reasonable rates, certify providers, allocate service territories, enforce safety standards, and adjudicate disputes. Active dockets include ongoing Distributed Energy Resources and grid modernization proceedings (Docket 16-028-U), electric cooperative compliance and refund orders (Docket 22-043-U), February 2021 winter weather event investigation (Docket 21-036-U), net metering tariff compliance (Docket 23-070-TF), and the 2025 Southwestern Electric Power Company base rate case. The Commission is funded through annual fees assessed on the gross earnings of regulated utilities under Ark. Code Ann. §25-1-114 and operates an Electronic Filing System for docket submissions, tariff searches, and public comments. It does not sell products or services commercially.

The APSC's principal external stakeholders are the regulated utilities, residential and commercial utility consumers, the Arkansas General Assembly, and federal partners (PHMSA for pipeline safety, NARUC for DER policy). The Commission balances utility ratepayer protection with utility financial viability, administers funds such as the Arkansas Universal Service Fund and Arkansas Calling Plan Fund, and delivers consumer education through its website, quarterly newsletters, public hearings, and Spanish-language resources.

Name

Arkansas Public Service Commission

Legal name

Arkansas Public Service Commission

Website

https://apsc.arkansas.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

1899

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Arkansas Public Service Commission is an independent state regulatory agency that regulates electric, natural gas, water, telecommunications, and pipeline safety for utilities operating in Arkansas, handling rate cases, consumer complaints, and property tax assessments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Little Rock, Arkansas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) is an independent state regulatory agency that oversees public utilities in Arkansas, including electric, natural gas, water, telephone, and transportation network companies. Its core activities encompass rate-setting through formal proceedings, certification of utilities and telecommunications providers, pipeline safety inspection, consumer complaint resolution, and annual property tax assessment for 60,300+ utility properties. The Commission holds quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial authority and operates an Electronic Filing System for regulatory submissions.

Product overview

The Arkansas Public Service Commission is a state regulatory agency overseeing public utilities, not a product company. Its regulatory portfolio includes: Electric Utility Regulation (24 utilities including investor-owned, cooperatives, and Regional Transmission Organizations), Natural Gas and Water Utility Regulation, Pipeline Safety oversight, Telecommunications certification, Transportation Network Companies, Tax Division property assessments for 60,000+ utilities, Consumer complaint resolution (50,000+ annually), Distributed Energy Resources/Grid Modernization proceedings, Energy Efficiency programs, and Net Metering rules. The Commission also operates an Electronic Filing System for regulatory submissions. These are regulatory mandates and compliance services, not commercial product offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Electric Utility Regulation

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC): Industry association of which APSC is a member. Provides research, advocacy, and policy coordination across state utility regulators, including the DER Manual referenced by APSC in its distributed energy resources proceedings.

Direct peers

• Texas Public Utility Commission of Texas: Direct state-level peer regulating Texas electric, gas, water, and telecom utilities. Highly analogous mandate of multi-utility oversight, rate-making, and pipeline safety, though at a much larger scale.
• Missouri Public Service Commission: Direct peer state commission with similar multi-utility regulatory mandate including rate-making, service quality, and consumer protection functions in a comparable Midwestern/Southern jurisdiction.
• California Public Utilities Commission: Most prominent state PUC, overseeing electric, gas, water, telecom, and rail utilities in California. Most directly comparable regulatory scope and quasi-judicial rate-case authority, though far larger and more aggressive on energy transition.
• Florida Public Service Commission: State peer that regulates Florida's electric, gas, water, and telecom utilities with similar statutory authority, quasi-judicial processes, and rate-case adjudication responsibilities.
• Oklahoma Corporation Commission: Multi-utility regulatory agency in neighboring Oklahoma with similar jurisdiction over oil and gas, electric, and telecom utilities. Comparable statutory authority and consumer protection mandate.
• Louisiana Public Service Commission: Closely comparable peer in neighboring Louisiana, regulating electric, gas, and water utilities with elected commissioners. Shares similar jurisdictional scope and rate-case processes for Southern utilities.
• Georgia Public Service Commission: Direct peer in neighboring Georgia, regulating electric, gas, and telecom utilities. Similar regional scale and Southeastern utility regulatory framework with quasi-judicial rate-case authority.
• Mississippi Public Service Commission: Direct peer in neighboring Mississippi, regulating electric, gas, water, and telecom utilities with elected commissioners. Same regional scale and Southeastern utility regulatory framework.
• Illinois Commerce Commission: State peer that regulates Illinois electric, gas, water, and telecom utilities. Similar rate-making, certification, and pipeline safety oversight responsibilities at a larger scale with a competitive retail electric market.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCjCtMIrCuWBm-lXEY5fTYuw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arkansas-public-service-commission

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Arkansas Public Service Commission