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.
Captiva is a census-designated place in Lee County, Florida, United States. It is located on Captiva Island. As of the 2000 census, the CDP had a total year-round population of 379. It is part of the Cape Coral–Fort Myers Metropolitan Statistical Area. Captiva's many large estates, condominiums, and businesses have recovered from the serious damage due to 2004's Hurricane Charley. Captiva is accessed by a small bridge that crosses Blind Pass from Sanibel Island. There is a toll to use the causeway that goes first to Sanibel Island then north to Captiva.