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.
Wendel is an unincorporated community in Lassen County, California. It is located 23 miles (37 km) east-southeast of Susanville, at an elevation of 4012 feet (1223 m). Wendel's ZIP Code is 96136. The Wendel post office openeed in 1915 (when it was transferred from Purser), closed in 1920, and re-opened in 1921. The name Wendel was bestowed by Thomas Moran, the president of the Nevada–California–Oregon Railway, for a friend.