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.
Seaside (formerly, East Monterey) is a city in Monterey County, California, USA, with a total population of 33,797 as of the 2008 census. Seaside is located 2.25 miles (3.6 km) east-northeast of Monterey, at an elevation of 33 feet (10 m). Seaside is the home of California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB), on the site of the former military base Fort Ord. It is also the home of the Bayonet and Black Horse golf courses, once also part of the Fort Ord military base and now open to the public and host to PGA Tour events.