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.
Sandoval County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. The population was estimated at 113,772, a 25.6% increase from the population of 89,908 recorded at the 2000 census. The county seat is Bernalillo. It is part of the Albuquerque, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area.