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.
Washington is a city in Hempstead County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 148 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Hope Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city is also home to Old Washington Historic State Park. Augustus H. Garland, the Attorney General of the United States under U.S. President Grover Cleveland lived there in his early years.