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.
Peterborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,883 at the 2000 census, with an estimated population of 6,100 in 2006. Home to the MacDowell Art Colony, the town is a popular tourist destination.