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.
Pollock is a town in Grant Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 376 at the 2000 census. Pollock and southern Grant Parish have been booming in recent years with residential and business growth. The population of Pollock has increased drastically since the last census as a result of the annexation of the land surrounding a federal prison, the United States Penitentiary, Pollock. Pollock is named for Oliver Pollock, one of the largest financial donors to the cause of the American Revolution. He used his influence to convince the Spanish to drive the British from Baton Rouge. When Pollock's funds ran short, he pledged his credit to purchase needed supplies for the American forces.