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.
Monkton is an unincorporated community in northern Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It has a population of about 4,856 people. It is 35 square miles (91 km) in area, with approximately 138 inhabitants per square mile (53 /km). As an unincorporated area, Monkton has no legally-defined boundaries, and its postal ZIP code (21111) includes a portion of adjacent Harford County. East of Monkton is an area named "My Lady's Manor", known for its horse farms, sprawling countryside, and old, stately homes set back from the country roads. In 1713, Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, decreed 10,000 acres (40 km²) for himself. He made a gift of this land to his fourth wife, christening the estate "My Lady's Manor. " It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.