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.
Chelsea is a city in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. Chelsea was incorporated on March 1, 1996 with a population of 906. At the 2000 census the population was 2,949. According to U.S. Census Bureau, the 2008 population estimate for Chelsea was 4,303. Chelsea is widely considered the fastest growing city in Shelby County, which is the fastest growing county in the state of Alabama.