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.
Boron (formerly, Amargo, Baker, Borate, and Kern) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, United States. Boron is located 15 miles (24 km) east-southeast of Castle Butte, at an elevation of 2467 feet (752 m). The population was 2,025 at the 2000 census. In 1990 the population was 2,904. Boron is a hinterland community on the western edge of the Mojave Desert. Within a half day's drive one can view the highest and lowest points in the contiguous 48 states of the United States, the world's oldest tree, and the cities of both Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Boron is home to California's largest open-pit mine, which is also the largest borax mine in the world.