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.
Stratford (formerly, Stratton) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kings County, California, United States. Stratford is located 14 miles (23 km) southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of 203 feet (62 m). It is part of the Hanford–Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,264 at the 2000 census. The town was originally named Stratton in 1901 for William Stratton of the Empire Land and Water Company. The name was changed to Stratford in 1906 due to the efforts of the local women's club. The first post office at Stratford opened in 1910.