Wyoming Statutes

Wyo. Stat. § 37-1-101 (2026)

Definitions.

✓ current as of May 2026
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(a)   As used in chapters 1, 2, 3, 12, 17 and 18 of this
title:

          (i) "Commission" means public service commission of
Wyoming, which is created and established by this chapter;

          (ii) "Commissioner" means any one of the members of
the Wyoming public service commission;

          (iii) "Municipality" when used in this chapter shall
mean and include any town, village, city, county or other
political subdivision of this state;

          (iv) "Municipal council" means and includes the city
council, common council, board of aldermen, the board of
selectmen, the board of trustees, the city commission or any
other governing body of any political subdivision of the state;

          (v) "Person" means and includes individuals,
associations of individuals, firms, partnerships, companies,
corporations, their lessees, trustees, or receivers, appointed
by any court whatsoever in the singular number, as well as the
plural;

          (vi) "Public utility" means and includes every person
that owns, operates, leases, controls or has power to operate,
lease or control:

                (A)   Repealed By Laws 2012, Ch. 84, § 104.

                (B)   Repealed by Laws 1995, ch. 181, § 3.

               (C) Any plant, property or facility for the
generation, transmission, distribution, sale or furnishing to or
for the public of electricity for light, heat or power,
including any conduits, ducts or other devices, materials,
apparatus or property for containing, holding or carrying
conductors used or to be used for the transmission of
electricity for light, heat or power;
               (D) Any plant, property or facility for the
manufacture, distribution, sale or furnishing to or for the
public of natural or manufactured gas for lights, heat or power;

               (E) Any plant, property or facility for the
supply, storage, distribution or furnishing to or for the public
of water for manufacturing, municipal, agriculture or domestic
uses, except and excluding any such plant, property or facility
owned by a municipality;

              (F)    Repealed By Laws 2012, Ch. 84, § 104.

               (G) Any plant, property or equipment for the
transportation or conveyance to or for the public of oil or gas
by pipeline, or any plant, property, or equipment, used for the
purpose of transporting, selling or furnishing natural gas to
any consumer or consumers within the state of Wyoming for
industrial, commercial or residential use, except any such
plant, property or equipment used for any of the following
purposes is exempted from this and all other provisions of this
chapter to the extent of such use:

                    (I) For the transportation or sale of
natural gas within or between oil and gas fields or potential
oil and gas fields for residential, commercial, industrial or
other use reasonably necessary in the exploration, development
or operation of the field;

                    (II) For drilling, producing, repressuring,
or other oil or gas field operations;

                     (III)   For operation of natural gas
processing plants;

                    (IV) For the sale of natural gas by the
producer to a consumer for use in industrial or commercial
plants or establishments of any kind or nature.

              (H)    None of the provisions of this chapter shall
apply to:

                    (I) Interstate commerce except when a
regulatory field has not been preempted by the United States
government;

                    (II) To public utilities owned and operated
by a municipality of the state of Wyoming or owned and operated
by a joint powers entity formed pursuant to the Wyoming Joint
Powers Act, W.S. 16-1-102 through 16-1-110, and comprised of two
(2) or more municipalities, except as to that portion of a
municipality owned and operated public utility or joint powers
entity owned and operated public utility, if any, as may extend
services outside the corporate limits of a municipality and
except that if any municipal or joint powers utility owns an
undivided interest in a facility for the production of
electricity which is also partly owned by an agency subject to
the jurisdiction of the public service commission, the sale of
electricity in excess of the participating municipalities' or
joint powers entities' need is subject to this act;

                    (III) To farmers' mutual telephone
associations having no capital stock and furnishing service to
members of associations only and without tolls, except as
provided in W.S. 37-2-205;

                    (IV) To mutual water companies or
associations having no capital stock and furnishing water
service to members of companies or associations only, and
without charges other than assessments of members to reimburse
companies or associations for expenses incurred in their
establishment or operation;

                    (V) To any person who is not otherwise
affiliated with a utility, that owns, leases, controls or has
power to lease or control any plant, property or facility which,
in a transaction approved or authorized by the commission, is
leased to one (1) or more public utilities, and is to be
operated by the lessee or lessees for the generation,
transmission, distribution, sale or furnishing to or for the
public of electricity for light, heat, power or other utility
purposes;

                    (VI) To the generation, transmission or
distribution of electricity, or to the manufacture or
distribution of gas, or to the furnishing or distribution of
water, nor to the production, delivery or furnishing of steam or
any other substance, by a producer or other person, for the sole
use of a producer or other person, or for the use of tenants of
a producer or other person and not for sale to others. Such
exemptions shall not apply to metered or other direct sales of a
utility commodity by a producer or other person to his tenants;
                    (VII) The retail sale of compressed natural
gas for use as motor vehicle fuel by a person that is not
otherwise regulated under this title;

                    (VIII) Metered and other direct sales of
water by a person to his tenants when the metered or other
direct sales are solely for purposes of allocating usage among
tenants and includes no additional fees or charges;

                    (IX) Metered and other direct sales of
water by a person operating a water system that:

                         (1) Has less than fifteen (15)
potential service connections;

                         (2) Is not owned, controlled or
otherwise affiliated with a water utility or any other utility
that provides water service;

                         (3) Is not a centralized water supply
system associated with a subdivision; and

                         (4) Is not located within the
established service territory of a water utility or the
corporate limits of a municipality.

                    (X) The retail sale of electricity for
charging electric vehicles by a person that is not otherwise
regulated under this title.

               (J) The term "public utility" shall mean and
include two (2) or more public utilities rendering joint
service;

               (K) Any person furnishing coal, water or other
raw materials to an electric power company shall not by this
fact alone be designated as a public utility;

               (M) The provisions of W.S. 37-6-101 through 37-
6-106, relating to the issuance and sale of securities shall not
apply to:

                    (I) Any gas pipeline corporation making
direct sales to Wyoming consumers in interstate commerce and not
for resale;
                    (II) Any cooperative electrical generation
and transmission association operating in interstate commerce
whose rates are not regulated by the Wyoming public service
commission.

               (N) The provisions of W.S. 37-18-101 and 37-18-
102 shall not apply to any public utility owned or operated by a
municipality or any cooperative electrical generation and
transmission association operating in interstate commerce whose
rates are not regulated by the Wyoming public service
commission.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 18 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1978–2024 · leading case: Tri-Cnty. Elec. Ass'n v. City of Gillette, 584 P.2d 995 (Wyo. 1978).
Tri-Cnty. Elec. Ass'n v. City of Gillette, 584 P.2d 995 (Wyo. 1978). · cites it 6× “In that year, § 37-1-101, W.S. 1977 [1] was amended to exclude from the P.”
Bridle Bit Ranch Co. v. Basin Elec. Power Coop., 2005 WY 108 (Wyo. 2005). · cites it 7× “[¶ 4] Both groups of landowners contend that Basin is a public utility as defined by Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 37-1-101 (LexisNexis 2005), and, thus, Basin was required to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Public Service Commission (PSC) before beginning…”
Krenning v. Heart Mountain Irrigation Dist., 2009 WY 11 (Wyo. 2009). · cites it 2× “(E) Any plant, property or facility for the supply, storage, distribution or furnishing to or for the public of water for manufacturing, municipal, agriculture or domestic uses, except and excluding any such plant, property or facility owned by a municipality; Wyo. Stat. Ann. §…”
Pub. Serv. Comm'n v. Formal Complaint of WWZ Co., 641 P.2d 183 (Wyo. 1982). · cites it 3× “]” 2 II The PSC generally has jurisdiction over those public utilities defined in § 37-1-101(a)(vi), W.S. 1977. The narrow issue on appeal is whether private sewage disposal systems are included in § 37-l-101(a)(vi) which provides in pertinent part: “ ‘Public utility’ means and…”
Box L Corp. v. Teton Cnty. ex rel. Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners, 92 P.3d 811 (Wyo. 2004). · cites it 2× “Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 37-1-101 (a)(vi) (LexisNexis 2003) states, in part: 'Public utility" means and includes every person that owns, operates, leases, controls or has power to operate, lease or control: [[Image here]] (E) Any plant, property or facility for the supply, storage,…”
Telstar Commc'ns, Inc. v. Rule Radiophone Serv., Inc., 621 P.2d 241 (Wyo. 1980). · cites it 2× “In the exercise of this authority, competition may be regulated indirectly, but such regulation is not the basic purpose for the activities of the Public Service Commission. The record in this case reflects that the action of the Public Service Commission was conducive to the…”
U S West Commc'ns, Inc. v. Wyoming Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 958 P.2d 376 (Wyo. 1998). · cites it 8× “§ 8-1-107 (1997), Silver Star argues that the PSC's authority must be determined under the Public Utilities Act, Wyo. Stat. §§ 37-1-101 through XX-XX-XXX (Repl.”
Spence v. Smyth, 686 P.2d 597 (Wyo. 1984). · cites it 4× “Section 37-1-101(a)(vi)(H), W.S. 1977, provides: "None of the provisions of this chapter shall apply to interstate commerce except when a regulatory field has not been preempted by the United States government.”
Gosar's Unlimited Inc. v. The Wyoming Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 2013 WY 90 (Wyo. 2013). · cites it 6× “A public hearing was held, and after testimony and evidence were presented, and public deliberations occurred, the PSC found that Gosar's was a public utility. Gosar's filed a petition for review in district court.”
In re Escalera Resources Co., 563 B.R. 336 (Bankr.D. Colo. 2017). “” Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 37-1-101 . The Wyoming Public Service Commission, has passed regulations governing *371 utility service, quality, adequacy, change in service, service interruptions, service connections, refusal to serve, discontinuation of service, and rates.”
Mountain States Tel. & Tel. Co. v. Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 745 P.2d 563 (Wyo. 1987). “We reject the broad constructions argued by PSC for specific provisions contained in the statutes, §§ 37-1-101, et seq., without addressing each statutory provision because of our con-elusion that the jurisdiction of PSC does not extend to matters such as the publication of the…”
— Wyo. Stat. § 37-1-101(a)(vi) — 2 cases
Telstar Commc'ns, Inc. v. Rule Radiophone Serv., Inc., 621 P.2d 241 (Wyo. 1980). “In the exercise of this authority, competition may be regulated indirectly, but such regulation is not the basic purpose for the activities of the Public Service Commission. The record in this case reflects that the action of the Public Service Commission was conducive to the…”
Pub. Serv. Comm'n v. Formal Complaint of WWZ Co., 641 P.2d 183 (Wyo. 1982). “]” 2 II The PSC generally has jurisdiction over those public utilities defined in § 37-1-101(a)(vi), W.S. 1977. The narrow issue on appeal is whether private sewage disposal systems are included in § 37-l-101(a)(vi) which provides in pertinent part: “ ‘Public utility’ means and…”
— Wyo. Stat. § 37-1-101(a)(vi)(B) — 2 cases
Appeal of Williams, 626 P.2d 564 (Wyo. 1981).
— Wyo. Stat. § 37-1-101(a)(vi)(C) — 1 case
— Wyo. Stat. § 37-1-101(a)(vi)(E) — 1 case
Pub. Serv. Comm'n v. Formal Complaint of WWZ Co., 641 P.2d 183 (Wyo. 1982). “]” 2 II The PSC generally has jurisdiction over those public utilities defined in § 37-1-101(a)(vi), W.S. 1977. The narrow issue on appeal is whether private sewage disposal systems are included in § 37-l-101(a)(vi) which provides in pertinent part: “ ‘Public utility’ means and…”
— Wyo. Stat. § 37-1-101(a)(vi)(H) — 3 cases
Tri-Cnty. Elec. Ass'n v. City of Gillette, 584 P.2d 995 (Wyo. 1978). “In that year, § 37-1-101, W.S. 1977 [1] was amended to exclude from the P.”
Spence v. Smyth, 686 P.2d 597 (Wyo. 1984). “Section 37-1-101(a)(vi)(H), W.S. 1977, provides: "None of the provisions of this chapter shall apply to interstate commerce except when a regulatory field has not been preempted by the United States government.”
— Wyo. Stat. § 37-1-101(a)(vi)(H)(II) — 1 case
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.