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.
Leicester is an unincorporated community in Buncombe County, North Carolina, although it has begun a process towards incorporation in 2007. As of 2007, Leicester population is 12,514 people. Since 2000, it has had a population growth of 16.26 percent. The township of Leicester, originally known as Turkey Creek, had a Post Office beginning April 7,1829. The name of the township was changed to Leicester (pronounced les-ter) in 1859. The town was named for Leicester Chapman. His father, Robert Chapman, was a captain under the Earl of Leicester and stationed in Wales. Leicester is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.