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.
Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. The town declares itself to be the "Gateway to Maine. " Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals. It is also a popular tourist destination known for its many outlet stores. Kittery is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area.