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.
Hartville is a village in Stark County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,174 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Canton–Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area. Hartville lies halfway between Akron and Canton, at the intersection of two main roads, State Routes 43 and 619. While Hartville is geographically quite small, Hartville has seen a major increase in commercial development in recent years, and is the largest commercial center in the northeast part of Stark County. Much of the commercial and tourism buzz has been due to local establishments such as The Hartville Kitchen, Hartville Market Place, and Hartville Hardware all becoming better known throughout surrounding areas. Hartville also shares a border with Uniontown and both these towns are part of Lake Township. Andrew Wellington Cordier, a United Nations official and President of Columbia University, went to high school in Hartville.