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.
Palm Coast a city in Flagler County, Florida. As of 2006, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 68,013; it is the most populous city or town in Flagler County. Palm Coast is a principal town of the Palm Coast, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, designated in 2007. The town of Palm Coast, and Flagler County in general, have been rapidly growing locations in population, having increased their populations from 32,732 and 49,832, respectively, from the 1990 census to the 2000 census.