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.
Mebane is a city located mostly in Alamance County, North Carolina, United States, with a part of it in Orange County, North Carolina. It is part of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The current population estimate (2008) is 10,624. According to the Official website of Mebane, NC, the town was named for General Alexander Mebane, Jr. , a Revolutionary War figure and member of the U. S. Congress. It was incorporated as Mebanesville in 1881, then the name was changed to Mebane. In 1987, the official name became the City of Mebane.