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.
Preston is a town in Caroline County, Maryland, United States. The population was 566 at the 2000 census. The ZIP code is 21655. The primary phone exchange is 673 and the area code is 410. Preston is home to the Linchester Mill, circa 1682. During the Revolutionary War it supplied grain to George Washington's troops.