This article presents the main aspects of economic regulation theory as well as analyses the national and international experience of bulk water use economic regulation. The following questions were answered: what is regulation? why regulation? what are the objectives of regulation? what forms may regulation be taking? International regulation and water charge experiences are presented as well as historic data of water regulation in the country. The results herein obtained allowed inference that only a broad and well defined legislation does not ensure efficient regulation. Regulation will be better executed if the public power makes enough material resources and qualified personnel available. Although it is difficult to evaluate how the relation between politics and regulation will function in practice, it is evident that these new federal and state laws have granted regulation boards with enormous power, through the attribution of extremely relevant functions and by the fact that they are able to interfere in their own definition of strategic policies for their sectors.
economical regulation theory