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.
Fayetteville is a city located in Cumberland County, North Carolina. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 121,015. It is the county seat of Cumberland County, and is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a U.S. Army post located northwest of the city. As of 2008, the city of Fayetteville has a population of approximately 174,091 including annexation since the 2000 census. It currently ranks as the sixth-largest municipality in North Carolina. Fayetteville is located near the Sandhills in the western part of the Coastal Plain region, on the Cape Fear River. With a population of 341,363, the Fayetteville metropolitan area is the largest in southeastern North Carolina, and the fifth-largest in the state. Suburban areas of metro Fayetteville include Hope Mills, Spring Lake, and Raeford.