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.
Moss Landing (formerly, Moss) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County, California, United States. Moss Landing is located on the Pajaro Valley Consolidated Railroad 15 miles (24 km) north-northeast of Monterey, at an elevation of 10 feet (3 m). As of the 2005 census, the CDP population was 782. It is located on the shore of Monterey Bay, at the mouth of Elkhorn Slough, and at the head of the Monterey Canyon. It is home to the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, a multi-campus research facility of the California State University; and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, sister organization to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Moss Landing's most notable landmark is the Moss Landing Power Plant. The natural gas plant, located at the intersection of State Route 1 and Dolan Road, produces 2,538 megawatts, is wholly owned by Dynegy, and is visible from Santa Cruz, California to the north and Monterey, California to the south on clear days. Moss Landing is also the location of the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories research facility, which is sponsored by seven California universities and offers a Masters of Science in marine science.