Subject(s): public Services -- Public utilities -- United States -- Economic and Legal conditions -- Role of utilities in American economy : Economic role of utility, social function of public utilities, historical evolution of public utility -- Economic and legal definitions of public utility concept : Economic characteristics of public utilities, legal characteristics of public utilities -- Regulation of privately owned utilities : Legal basis for regulation, constitutional basis of federal regulatory powers, restriction on federal regulatory powers, state regulatory authority and restrictions, local powers -- Conflicts between federal and state regulatory powers: Regulation of interstate/intrastate commerce, navigable waters and federal lands -- Regulatory methods and principles : Judicial regulation, direct legislative regulation, relations between regulatory commissions and courts, indirect methods of regulation, principal utility activities subject the regulation, regulatory agency procedures -- Rate regulation valuation : Origin and evolution of fair value concept, original cost method, valuation of intangible assets, rate regulation- deductions from operating revenue : operating expense deduction, utility taxation, depreciation expenses, rate regulation- percentage returns - importane of rate of return, legal views of percentage rate of return, administration of financial integrity standards, impact of earnings regulation -- Regulation of intercorporate relations : Importance of intercorporate relations, integration movement, holding company device, regulation of holding companies, effects of holding company act, current intercorporate relations, evaluation of regulatory process- goals of regulation, commissions as regulators, alternatives to commission control -- Management of privately owned utilities : General utility management and organization principles- nature and functions of management, utility manager's institutional environment, managerial responsibilities and problems -- Marketing utility services : characteristics of market for utility services, application of marketing techniques -- Utility finance and accounting : Utility finance and financial problems, accounting and reports -- Utility pricing policies and problems : Utility pricing environment, utility pricing theory, management approaches to rate structures, actual rate structures -- Utility public relations : Need for good public relations, strategy and tactics of public relations, misuse of public relations- losing friends and alienating people, relations with regulatory authorities, organization for administering public relations -- Utility forecasting and planning : Forecasting and planning needs and objectives, problems and techniques of forecasting, integration of forecasting and planning -- Public ownership of utility : Environment of public ownership, legal basis for public ownership, arguments for and against public ownership -- Managing publicly owned utilities -- Issues in public ownership : proper role of public ownership, pricing policies, public ownership expansion -- Problems of public ownership " Problems of capital acquisition and use, rate making, taxation and accountability, interrelations among enterprises, development problems -- Current problems and future : Utility growth and technological change - productivity, problems of growth and technology -- Ecological and social problems of utilities, utility caused ecological problems- electric utility industry, other utility ecological problems, public utilities and general social goals, paying for ecological and social benefits -- Future utility management and ownership