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.
Alford is a town in Jackson County, Florida, United States. It is located in the Florida Panhandle near Marianna. The population was 466 at the 2000 census. According to the 2004 U.S. Census Bureau's Estimates, the town population declined slightly to 464.