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.
Burlingame is a city in San Mateo County, California. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula and has a significant shoreline on San Francisco Bay. The city is named after diplomat Anson Burlingame. It is renowned for many surviving examples of Victorian architecture and its high residential quality of life. Burlingame was settled by wealthy San Franciscans looking for a better climate for their second homes. Beginning in the 1960s a population increase and its proximity to the San Francisco International Airport, generated airline support services growth. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, Burlingame had a population of 28,158.