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.
Parlin is an unincorporated area in Old Bridge and Sayreville in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 08859. As of the United States Census, 2000, the population for ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) 08859 was 20,129.