For one thing, an electric company is going to be registered as a public utility, not a non-profit.

There are several different types of non-profit organizations, including I believe a 501c4 non-profit that is allowed to lobby (paid lobbyists).

A lot of these "non-profit" organizations are really just a way for the officers to generate income from people willing to reduce their taxable incomes by making "donations" to the non-profit.

The restrictions on how non-profits use the donations is pretty loose, many spend ridiculous amounts of donated money on fundraising, salaries and travel expenses for the officers.

The organization may not be profiting but the people running them make a pretty good living in most cases.