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.
Hampton is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 14,937 at the 2000 census. Located beside the Atlantic Ocean, Hampton is home to Hampton Beach State Park at Hampton Beach, a summer tourist destination. The densely-populated central settlement of the town, where over 61% of the population resides, is defined as the Hampton census-designated place (CDP) and is centered on the intersection of U.S. 1 and NH 27.