Public utilities provide electric, gas, water or telephone
service to customers in a specified area. Utilities have a duty
to provide safe and adequate service on reasonable terms to
anyone who lives within the service area on without
discriminating between customers. Because most utilities operate
in near monopolistic conditions, they can be heavily regulated
by local, state, and federal authorities. Generally, the local
and state agencies are called Public Service Commissions (PSC)
or Public Utility Commissions (PUC). Municipal Utilities and
Rural Electric Cooperatives may be unregulated though.