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.
Glenbrook is an unincorporated community in Douglas County, Nevada, United States. The community is named after the Glenbrook House hotel and is at an elevation of 6,250 feet (1,910 m). Glenbrook is included in the Gardnerville Ranchos metropolitan area. As the oldest settlement on Lake Tahoe, it played a significant part of Nevada's statehood as the main supplier of timber to the Comstock and Virginia City. The first settlers of the valley, which included Captain Augustus W. Pray, arrived in 1860. It was named for its two primary geographic features — Glen, a secluded valley, and Brook, a small stream. It is located on the East shore of Lake Tahoe, due West of Carson City. This small community is about 10 mi South of Incline Village, and about 12 mi (19 km) North of South Lake Tahoe, California.