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.
Carbondale is an unincorporated community in northwestern Waterloo Township, Athens County, Ohio, United States. Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 45717. It is located a short distance north of State Route 56. The town is located on Carbondale Creek, which flows into Hewett Fork just below the town. Hewett Fork is a tributary of Raccoon Creek, which is a tributary of the Ohio River. The name refers to the once-abundant coal resources in the hills and valleys surrounding the community. The area was extensively mined, with all mines closing years ago. The community is closely hemmed in by the Zaleski State Forest, including the Enderlin Forest just west of town, which includes one of the earliest large-scale white pine plantations in the state, and features the state's champion white pine tree.