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.
North Fork is an unincorporated community in Lemhi County, Idaho. Its name is derived from confluence of the south-flowing North Fork of the Salmon River with the north-flowing main Salmon River, which makes a near-right angle turn here to flow westward across the state to Riggins. US 93 serves the community, connecting it with Salmon to the south and Lost Trail Pass to the north. The elevation of North Fork is 3620 feet (1103 m) above sea level.