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.
Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown Santa Ana. As of January 1, 2009, the population was 86,252. The current OMB metropolitan designation for Newport Beach lies within the Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine area. The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings making Newport Beach one of the wealthiest communities in California, and in United States overall. As of February 2010 Portfolio. com ranked Newport Beach, California the richest U.S. city. The Daily Pilot, Costa Mesa, CA a neighboring city newspaper reported more than a quarter households have an income greater than $200,000, and the median value for homes exceeds $1 million.