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.
Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2000 census, Carson had a total population of 89,730. It is located 13 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, and is known as a suburb of the city. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, Carson is the youngest municipality in the South Bay region of Greater Los Angeles.