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.
Talmage (variant, Talmadge) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mendocino County, California, United States. Talmage is located 2.5 miles (4 km) east-southeast of Ukiah, at an elevation of 627 feet (191 m). The population was 1,141 at the 2000 census. It lies on the Southeastern region of Ukiah Valley and is home to the famous City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, one of the largest Chinese Zen Buddhist temple in the United States. The town's name honors early settler Junius Talmage.