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.
Surprise is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA. The population was 30,848 at the 2000 census; however, rapid growth has boosted the city's population to 90,717 by 2007, according to Census Bureau estimates. As such, it is the second fastest-growing municipality in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, and between 1990 and 2000, it was the sixth fastest-growing place among all cities and towns in Arizona. An estimate released by the city's Demographic and Permit Statistics department showed a population of 109,672 in December 2008.