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.
Ludlow is a small town, with a population of about 23 residents (this number fluctuates frequently as the town is a work camp), in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, United States. The town started as a water stop for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad in 1883. Ore was found in the nearby hills, leading to a boom. By the 1940s, mining had ceased and the town was left with only the tourist traffic from Route 66. When Interstate 40 was built, there was little business and the residents departed, leaving empty buildings that still stand beside old Route 66. A small portion of Ludlow abutting Interstate 40 is still inhabited, and contains two gas stations, a small motel, a restaurant, a Dairy Queen fast-food outlet, and a small tire and repair shop. The ZIP Code is 92338 and the community is inside area code 760. An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1 on the Richter scale struck the Mojave Desert at Ludlow near Interstate 40 on December 6th, 2008.