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.
Alpine is an unincorporated community in Apache County, Arizona, United States, in the east central part of the state. Alpine was settled in 1876. It was originally known as Bush Valley. Located at an elevation of 8,050 ft (2450m) in the eastern end of the White Mountains and surrounded by the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Alpine is a popular destination for hunting, fishing, and camping. Alpine is near the headwaters of the San Francisco River, and 6 miles from the New Mexico border. The Alpine post office has the ZIP code of 85920; the ZCTA for ZIP Code 85920 had a population of 256 at the 2000 census.