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.
Lowgap is an unincorporated community in the Franklin Township of Surry County, North Carolina. Lowgap is named for the "low gap" the community is settled in among the Blue Ridge Mountains. The community has an elevation of 1,457 feet. Landmarks near the center of the community include the community post office, the community library housed in the former Lowgap School, fire department and area churches. North Carolina Highway 89, also known as West Pine Street, serves as the main thoroughfare in the community.