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.
Silva is an unincorporated community in Wayne County, Missouri, United States. It is located on U.S. Route 67 about thirteen miles east of Piedmont. The community was founded in 1909 and was named after a woman named 'Sylvia', a friend of the postmistress. According to Ramsay, the name 'Sylvia' is locally pronounced 'Silva'. Silva is home to Camp Lewallen, a Boy Scout Camp serving the Scouts of the Greater Saint Louis Area Council.