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.
Augusta is the capital of the U.S. state of Maine, county seat of Kennebec County, and center of population for Maine . The city's population was 18,560 at the 2000 census, making it the third-smallest state capital after Montpelier, Vermont and Pierre, South Dakota. Located on the Kennebec River at the head of tide, it is home to the University of Maine at Augusta.