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.
Newberry Springs is an unincorporated area, 117 sq mi (300 km) in size, in San Bernardino County, California, USA. It is located in the western Mojave Desert of southern California -- 20 mi (32 km) northeast of Barstow, approximately 40 mi (64 km) due west of the Mojave National Preserve, and approximately 100 mi (160 km) south of Death Valley National Park.