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.
Palo Verde is a small unincorporated community in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is located about 40 miles west of Phoenix, and 6 miles southwest of downtown Buckeye. Despite sharing a name, the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station is actually located in nearby Wintersburg. Palo Verde exists as a county island within the planning boundary of Buckeye. This precludes any possibility of incorporation for the community, but annexation into Buckeye is a possibility.