Carl Wood was born in 1947 in Baltimore, Maryland and moved with his family to Riverside, California in 1962.  He was graduated from Riverside Polytechnic High School in 1964, and attended the University of California, Riverside where he was elected student body president in 1967-68.  Carl was also active in the civil rights and anti-war movements.

Carl completed an apprenticeship as an industrial electrician in Gary, Indiana, and worked nearly 20 years in the steel, chemical and utility industries.  In 1986, he was elected Business Agent (chief officer) of Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) Local 246, representing 2000 power plant employees of Southern California Edison Co.  In 1987, Carl was elected to the National Executive Board of the UWUA.  In 1997, he was appointed Senior National Representative, servicing UWUA locals in California and the other Western states and acting as the union’s National Deregulation Coordinator.

In May 1999, Wood was appointed by Governor Gray Davis to a six-year term on the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).  As Commissioner, he is best known for his efforts to stabilize and re-regulate California’s electrical utility industry during and after the 2000-2001 Energy Crisis, and for his authorship of the Tele- communications Consumer Bill of Rights.    

From 2002 to 2004, Wood chaired the California Electricity Generation Facilities Standards Committee, which established enforceable maintenance and operations standards for utility and non-utility generating plants in California.

In 2003, Wood became Chairman of the Consumer Affairs Committee of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), in which capacity he acted as a national spokesperson for consumer rights.  

Wood has testified before committees of the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures of California, New Mexico, Michigan, Ohio and Connecticut, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Federal Communications Commission.  He has been an invited speaker before government, academic and labor bodies in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Romania and South Korea.  In the United States, Wood has addressed numerous consumer, industry and labor groups as a keynote speaker or panelist.

Commissioner Wood left the CPUC at the expiration of his term in December 2004.  After working as a consultant on regulatory, consumer and labor matters, he now serves as Director of Regulatory Affairs for the national UWUA.  His volunteer activities include service on the AARP National Policy Council, and as President of the board of directors of The Utility Reform Network (TURN).

Carl Wood has been married for 34 years to Anne Patrice Wood.  They have two adult children and one grandson.  The Woods reside in Cherry Valley in Riverside County, California.