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.
Freeport is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,800 at the 2000 census. Known for its numerous outlet stores, Freeport is home to L.L. Bean, Wolfe's Neck Woods State Park, and the Desert of Maine. Freeport is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area.