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.
Finley is an unincorporated community in Lake County, California. It is located 3.5 miles (6 km) southeast of Lakeport, at an elevation of 1352 feet (412 m). The first post office at Finley opened in 1907. The name is for settler Samuel Finley Sylar.