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.
Ridgecrest is an unincorporated settlement in eastern Buncombe County, North Carolina, off of Interstate 40/U.S. Route 70, in eastern Buncombe County. The community is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is also home to Ridgecrest Camp for Boys and Crestridge Camp for Girls, two large and successful Christian summer camps.