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.
Thurmont is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 5,588 at the 2000 census. The town is located in the northern part of Frederick County, approximately ten miles from the Pennsylvania border, along U.S. Highway 15. It is home to Cunningham Falls State Park and Catoctin Mountain Park, which contains the presidential retreat of Camp David. The town's slogan is "Gateway to the Mountains. " Thurmont was designated in 2005 as a Main Street Maryland Community