I'm an electrical engineer at a public utility company. I mostly do distribution planning and project management. Really like what I do and I really love the company. I recently changed jobs to this one because I wanted to be a part of this.
The board of directors are elected by the customers, most the employees are in a union, and our rates are cheaper than private utilities. I don't think many Americans understand this structure exist in our country.
The company is actually an Irrigation District. Most of them are over 100 years old at this point. There are a handful throughout the US.
The votes are every 4 years. Its on your ballot, like senators. We'll have campaign ads on TV with "Vote for ____! They care about the ratepayers!". Some people run on keeping rates low, some run on sustainability for the farmer's water. Its all very interesting to me.