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.
Timberlake is a small unincorporated township in south-central Person County, North Carolina. The population was 4,674 at the 2000 census. It lies between Roxboro and Durham along the US Highway 501 corridor through Person County. The economy of this township is dominated by tobacco agriculture. The Person County Airport is located here.