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.
Manns Harbor is an unincorporated community in Dare County, North Carolina. Located along U.S. Highway 64 at the eastern terminus of U.S. Highway 264, Manns Harbor used to harbor the ferry that transversed the Croatan Sound and provided access to Roanoke Island. Today, the William B. Umstead Bridge and the newly constructed 4-lane Virginia Dare Bridge link Manteo, North Carolina to the mainland. This community provides a gateway to North Carolina's Outer Banks.