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.
Rackerby (formerly, Hansonville) is an unincorporated community in Yuba County, California. It is located 24 miles (39 km) north-northeast of Marysville, at an elevation of 1378 feet. Rackerby post office opened in 1892, moved to Butte County in 1930, and moved back in 1934. The name is in honor of William M. Rackerby, its first postmaster.