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.
Riverbank is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. The population was 15,826 at the 2000 census. Incorporated on August 23, 1922, Riverbank's official slogan is "The City of Action. " It is part of the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area. Home of the Cheese and Wine Festival, Riverbank was originally founded as a ferry, but was established as a town with the coming of the Santa Fe Railroad.