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.
Hamptonville is an unincorporated community located in southwestern Yadkin County, North Carolina, United States. Hamptonville is named for Henry Hampton (1750-1832), a colonel in the Revolutionary Army . Hampton set aside land for a town in 1806. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP of Hamptonville had a population of 5,901. It is a Piedmont Triad community. The community is primarily rural and agricultural.