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.
Auburn is the county seat of Placer County, California. Its current population is about 13,106. (March 2009) Auburn is known for its California Gold Rush history. One of its most famous citizens was the poet and short-story writer Clark Ashton Smith, who was born in Auburn in 1893 and who lived there most of his life. Born and raised in Auburn, Stacy Dragila was the first to win an Olympic gold medal in women's pole vaulting. Tomas Arana, an actor most notable for his role in Gladiator, was born in Auburn. Also, the town is featured toward the end of British author Anthony Horowitz's book, Nightrise. Auburn is part of the Sacramento–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area.