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.
Pembroke Pines is a city in Broward County, Florida, The United States of America. According to 2006 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 150,064, making it the second most populous city in Broward County, the eleventh most populous in Florida, and the 157th most populous in the United States. Its official motto is "Join Us and Progress with Us.". Pembroke Pines was named one of the best cities to live in America. Pembroke Pines won the National Civic League's coveted "All-America City Award" in 2004 and was a finalist community in 2003. Pembroke Pines also received an "outstanding achievement award" in the "2005 City Livability Awards" Program, sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Many of Pembroke Pines schools have received the "Five Star School Award" from the Florida Department of Education as schools that have shown evidence of exemplary community involvement.