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.
Hingham is a town in Plymouth County on the South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The United States Census Bureau 2008 estimated population was 22,561. Hingham is located 8 miles (13 km) southeast of the Boston city limits. For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Hingham, please see the article Hingham (CDP), Massachusetts.