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.
Temperance is an unincorporated community in Bedford Township, Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a census-designated place (CDP) for statistical purposes. The population was 7,757 at the 2000 census. The Temperance ZIP code, 48182, serves most of Bedford Township outside of the Lambertville area, as well as portions of western Erie Township, southern Ida Township, and northeast Whiteford Township.