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.
Yucca Valley is an incorporated town located in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 16,865 at the 2000 census. However, the town's highway sign lists the current population at 25,500. Yucca Valley lies 17 miles (27 km) west of Twentynine Palms, 37 miles (60 km) north of Palm Springs, 89 miles (143 km) south of Barstow via State Route 247, 45 miles (72 km) southeast of Lucerne Valley and 55 miles (89 km) east of San Bernardino. Bordered in the west by the San Bernardino Mountains and in the south by the Joshua Tree National Park, the Yucca Valley community is located in the Mojave Desert at 3,300 feet (1,000 m) above sea level.