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.
Delmont is an unincorporated area within Maurice River Township. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP code 08314. As of the United States 2000 Census, the population for ZIP Code Tabulation Area 08314 was 1,986. The community was founded by European settlers in 1770. Until 1891, it was called Ewings Neck. The Ewing family was one of the first to settle in the area and a "neck" is a name often given to a stretch of higher ground surrounded by marshes and low-lands.