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.
Tryon is a town in Polk County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,760 at the 2000 census. It was named for William Tryon, Governor of North Carolina from 1765 to 1771. Tryon was the birthplace of the singer, pianist, composer, and activist Nina Simone.