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.
Linville is a community centered just south of the US 221 and NC 105 intersection in Avery County, North Carolina. The community -- at times known as Clay or Porcelain -- was founded in 1891 and named for William and John Linville, who were killed by Cherokees in 1766. The East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad ("Tweetsie") passed through the community from 1916 till 1940, when a major flood washed away the tracks;; the old rail route later became NC 105 in 1956.