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.
Olancha (formerly, Olanche) is a census-designated place in Inyo County of the U.S. state of California. Olancha is located 37 miles (60 km) south-southeast of Independence, at an elevation of 3658 feet (1115 m). As of the 2000 census, the CDP population was 134. Located in the Owens Valley next to the mostly dry Owens Lake, the arid settlement is home to a major bottled water plant for Crystal Geyser Natural Alpine Spring Water.