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.
Crestline is a city in Crawford and Richland Counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 5,088 at the 2000 census. It is the third largest city in Crawford County. The Crawford County portion of Crestline is part of the Bucyrus Micropolitan Statistical Area, while the small portion of the city that extends into Richland County is considered part of the Mansfield Metropolitan Statistical Area.