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.
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2000 census, its population was 40,765, with an estimated 2008 population of 42,255. Concord includes the villages of Penacook, East Concord and West Concord. The city is home to the Franklin Pierce Law Center, New Hampshire's only law school; St. Paul's School, a private preparatory school; New Hampshire Technical Institute, a two-year community college; and the Granite State Symphony Orchestra.