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.
Anza is an unincorporated community located in southern Riverside County, California, in the Anza Valley, a semi-arid region at a mean elevation of 4,110 feet (1,250 m) above sea level. It is located approximately 35 miles (56 km) southwest of Palm Springs, 143 miles (230 km) southeast of Los Angeles, California and approximately 75 miles (121 km) northeast of San Diego, California, being traversed by State Route 371. In local vernacular Anza, and several other mountain communities (including Garner Valley, Idyllwild, Pinyon Pines and Aguanga) are collectively referred to as "the Hill". As of the 2000 census, the unincorporated town of Anza had a total population of approximately 2,100. As of 2007, Anza's population is about 8,000 people. Since 2000, it has had a population growth of 25.74 percent. The ZIP Code is 92539, and the community is inside area code 951.