June 2, 1975: In the final hours of the 64th Regular Session, the Texas Legislature passes the Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA), establishing the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT).

Legislative attempts to establish statewide regulatory authority over certain utilities date back to 1913, including gubernatorial efforts like those by Gov. Dan Moody in 1929. The 1975 passage of PURA is strongly supported by customers and advocacy groups frustrated by high utility bills.

August 1975: Gov. Dolph Briscoe appoints the first three commissioners: Garrett Morris, George Cowden and Alan Erwin.

September 2, 1975: The first three PUCT commissioners are sworn into office.

Immediately following their swearing-in, the commissioners hold their first public meeting and select Morris to serve as the PUCT's first chairman. Without office space, supplies or support staff, the commissioners have one year to set up the agency, including development of operating rules.

September 1, 1976: The PUCT officially begins rate regulation of all telephone utilities and electric, water, and wastewater utilities outside of cities in Texas.

Telephone giant Southwestern Bell files the PUCT's first-ever rate case on this date, requesting an increase of $298.3 million. Commissioners would ultimately approve a rate increase of $57.8 million in this case.

1985: To streamline and consolidate utility regulation in the state, the Texas Legislature transfers economic regulation of retail water and wastewater utilities from the PUCT to the Texas Water Commission.

September 1, 1990: PUCT launches Relay Texas, providing telephone network access for deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf and blind, or speech-impaired Texans.

The service is available 24/7, 365 days a year and serves them through operator-assisted calling and technology to remove barriers to convenient telephone service. It is funded through the Texas Universal Service Fund and assists with more than 280,000 calls annually.

September. 1, 1995: Deregulation of local telephone service begins in Texas, as passed by the 74th Texas Legislature in House Bill 2128.

Deregulation reduces the PUCT's regulatory oversight of telephone service. The Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 further reduces the PUCT's regulatory authority over telephone service in the state.

September 1, 1995: Deregulation of the wholesale electric market begins in Texas, as passed by the 74th Texas Legislature in Senate/House Bill SB 373.

1999: The Texas Legislature passes SB 7, which creates competition among retail electric providers, allowing consumers to choose their electric provider and billing plan.

Electric deregulation includes consumer protections for the new competitive environment, entitling customers to “safe, reliable, and reasonably priced electricity.” The PUCT must implement consumer choice by January 1, 2002, which will allow them to pick their provider and billing plan.

January 1, 2002: Full retail competition for consumers begins in competitive areas of the Texas electric market.

For the first time ever, Texas consumers can choose their electric service provider and plan. City-owned and cooperative electric providers can opt into the competitive market. To date, few have.

2005: The 79th Texas Legislature (First Special Session) passes Senate Bill 20 to create Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ).

The CREZ program builds 3,500 miles of new powerlines in West Texas to transport the region's growing renewable energy, setting the stage for the wind and solar power boom in Texas.

September 1, 2014: Economic regulation of water and sewer utilities returns to the PUCT from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

Part of the PUCT's 2013 Sunset Bill, the transfer capitalizes on the PUCT's historical ratemaking expertise and allows TCEQ to focus on its core environmental mission.

February 13-19, 2021: A major North American winter storm causes widespread, days-long electric outages across the ERCOT system, resulting in hundreds of deaths and impacting millions of Texans.

This sparks major operational and market reforms to bolster grid reliability and energy supply, including:

• Weatherization requirements for power generation and transmission utilities to withstand extreme weather conditions, and increased penalties for non-compliance with those standards.
• Creation of electric supply chain map to speed up response to emergency management or disaster situations.
• Wholesale Market Redesign to prioritize electric grid reliability.

2023: The 88th Texas Legislature passes Senate Bill 2627, creating the Texas Energy Fund (TEF).

Voters overwhelmingly approve the TEF Constitutional Amendment in November 2023, authorizing the PUCT to administer a $10 billion fund for the construction of on-demand power generation and additional electric reliability projects.

2025 : The PUCT continues oversight of ERCOT, the competitive electric, investor-owned water and wastewater, and telecommunication industries.

The availability and affordability of Texas' energy and water resources is a critical component of protecting the eighth-largest economy in the world and our fast-growing state.