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.
Pinos Altos was a mining town, now abandoned, formed after a gold strike discovery of gold in the nearby Pinos Altos Mountains, in 1860. The town was located about five to ten miles north of the present day Silver City, New Mexico. It was the site of the Battle of Pinos Altos between the Arizona Guards of Pinos Altos a Confederate Arizona Territorial militia company, and Apache warriors led by Mangas Coloradas and Cochise. The town's Zipcode is 88053.