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.
Somerset is a city in Pulaski County, Kentucky, United States. The city population was 11,352 at the 2000 census. The population of the Somerset Micropolitan Statistical Area was 56,217 at the 2000 census. The 2009 estimated population is 12,320 for the city of Somerset. The Somerset Micropolitan Statistical Area is 60,148.