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.
Frostburg is a city in Allegany County, Maryland, United States located at the head of the Georges Creek Valley. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,873 at the 2000 census. Located eight miles (13 km) west of Cumberland, Maryland, the town is one of the first cities on the "National Road", US 40, and the western terminus of the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. Since 1991, the city has been served by Interstate 68. The City of Frostburg has an approximate year-round population of 8,075. In addition, 5,400 students attend Frostburg State University, a public university within the University System of Maryland. There have been several annexations in the City of Frostburg during 2009, and it is the only area of Allegany County which has shown growth within the last five years. Frostburg was originally called Mount Pleasant until 1820, when the government developed a postal service, and the town was renamed Frostburg.