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.
Letha is an unincorporated town in Gem County, Idaho, United States. It is located approximately 9 miles (15 kilometers) west of Emmett. Letha was founded by W.W. Wilton and a Colonel Barnard and named for Wilton's daughter, Letha Wilton. It was built approximately midway along the railway running from Emmett to New Plymouth, with anticipation that it would become a major rail center; although this never occurrect, Letha today remains a service center for the adjacent farms and ranches. The community includes an elementary school, fire department, post office, general store, and motor vehicle service station. Higher education, police, medical and legal services are found at nearby Emmett.