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.
Houlton is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, on the United States-Canada border, located at 46°07′32″N 67°50′23″W / 46.1256°N 67.8398°W / 46.1256; -67.8398. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 6,476. It is perhaps best known as being at the northern terminus of Interstate 95 and for being the birthplace of Samantha Smith. The town is home to the annual Houlton Agricultural Fair. Houlton is the county seat for Aroostook County, and as such its nickname is the "Shire Town" and the Houlton High School sports teams are named "The Shiretowners". The Meduxnekeag River flows through the heart of the town, and the border with the Canadian province of New Brunswick is three miles east of the town's center. Houlton was the home of Ricker College which closed in 1978. Primary settlement and center of the town is designated as CDP with same name, Houlton.