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.
Badger is an unincorporated town located in Tulare County in California. It has a population of 140. The zip code is 93603 and the area code 559. It is in the Cutler-Orosi Unified School District; High-school-aged students who live in Badger must ride a bus for about 23 miles (37 km) to attend school. A local Hare Krishna group is also known to run their own school in Badger, called New Braja Village School. A Hare Krishna festival is held there every year, in May or June, celebrating the visit of a spiritual guru, Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja. Badger has recently experienced a lot of growth. The Seven Circles Retreat Center hosts a variety of youth, family and spiritual programs (www. sevencirclesretreat. org). Badger Creek, a mixed-use community is developing housing and business space for those who wish to live and work in a rural environment. There is a Subud spiritual group in Badger.