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.
Easton is a city in Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The population was 11,708 at the 2000 census, and 14,677 according to current July 2008 census estimates. It is the county seat of Talbot County. The primary ZIP Code is 21601, and the secondary is 21606. The primary phone exchange is 822, the auxiliary exchanges are 820, 763, and 770, and the area code is 410. WINX and WCEI-FM broadcast FM radio from the town. It hosts the Talbot County Fair each summer and was home to four franchises during the existence of the Eastern Shore Baseball League -- the Farmers, Browns, Cubs, and Yankees. The Third Haven Meeting House, the oldest Quaker meetinghouse, and one of the oldest places of worship in Maryland, is in Easton. ArtHouse Live, a resident theater company, is also based in Easton.