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.
Gorham is a village in Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 256 at the 2000 census. It is known locally for its near-annihilation during the deadly Tri-State Tornado of 1925. On June 15, 1999, resident George Morber and his grown daughter, Carolyn Frederick, were murdered by serial killer Angel Maturino Resendiz.