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.
Centerville is a city in Montgomery and Greene Counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. A part of the Greater Dayton area, its population was 23,122 as of the 2000 census. The mayor of Centerville is Mark Kingseed. Centerville has the largest collection of early stone houses in the state of Ohio. Many are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Centerville is sister city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada and Bad Zwischenahn, Lower Saxony, Germany. Besides one high school, Centerville has an alternative high school, 6 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, 2 kindergarten through first grade schools, and one pre-school. There is also one Catholic K-8 School serving the city. Centerville also has a collection of blue ribbon schools.