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.
Big Bear City is an unincorporated, census-designated place in San Bernardino County, California immediately east of Big Bear Lake. The population was 5,779 at the 2000 census. Big Bear encompasses Census Tracts 113 (east) and 114 (west). The makeup of Big Bear City is mostly residential with smaller houses and cabins laid out in typical square block fashion. Despite the name, Big Bear City is not an incorporated city.