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.
Springerville is a town in Apache County, Arizona, United States within the White Mountains. Its postal ZIP Code is 85938. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 1,956. The town growing around Henry Springer's trading post was officially given its name May 10, 1876. Before that time it had gone by names such as Colorado Chiquito, Milligan Settlement, and Valle Redondo (Round Valley). It was incorporated in 1948. Springerville sits at an elevation of 6,974 feet. Along with its neighbor Eagar, both communities make up the place known as Round Valley which is in the northeastern part of Arizona close to the New Mexico border.