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.
Keauhou (also spelled Keauhoa or Keauhua) is an unincorporated community on the island of Hawaii in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. Its elevation is 13 feet (4 m). Because the community has borne multiple names, the Board on Geographic Names officially designated it "Keauhou" in 1914. Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 96739. The post office is a contract station only; people who live in the community use the zip code of 96740 or 96725. Historic areas near Keauhou include Keauhou Bay, where Kamehameha III was born, Kahaluu Bay directly North, and Ahu A Umi Heiau in the uplands. The Keauhou Holua Slide is a National Historic Landmark. The post office and a small museum are located in the Keauhou Shopping Center.