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.
Guilford is an unincorporated town in York Township, Dearborn County, Indiana. Located at the forks of Tanners Creek the town was first platted in 1850 to take advantage of the fact that a railroad was soon to be built in the area. This made Guilford a prime spot for attracting farmers and merchants who wanted to ship their products. Guilford has the last remaining covered bridge in Dearborn County. Noted bridge builder William Kennedy was hired by the County Commissioners in 1897 to construct the "latest in covered bridges". By 1961, the bridge was slated for replacement with a more durable concrete span. People of the county banded together to save the old structure, raising money and moving it to its present location. It is now the main attraction of the Guilford Covered Bridge Park located at the intersectin of IN St Rt 1 and York Ridge.