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.
Winterhaven (formerly, Karmack) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Imperial County, California, United States. Winterhaven is located 6.5 miles (10 km) east of Pilot Knob, The population was 529 at the 2000 census. It is part of the 'El Centro, California Metropolitan Statistical Area'. North of Interstate 8 and bordering Yuma, Arizona, the town is partly Quechan Indian reservation. The Colorado River is the town's eastern border.