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.
Lyme is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,679 at the 2000 census. Lyme is home to the Chaffee Natural Area. The Dartmouth Skiway is in the eastern part of town, near the village of Lyme Center. The Appalachian Trail also crosses the town in the east.