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.
Rescue is an unincorporated community in El Dorado County, California. It is located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north-northwest of Shingle Springs, Rescue consists of primarily farmland and ranches with a few residential neighborhoods and businesses. Downtown Rescue is quite small, with only a post office, fire station, two churches, and a community center to distinguish it from the rural community that it centers. The zip code is 95672, and Rescue is located in area code 530. Rescue lies at an elevation of 1214 feet (370 m).