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.
Mason is a city in southwestern Warren County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, Mason's population was 22,016. It was the fastest-growing and most populous city in the county and is part of the Greater Cincinnati MSA. Until February 1997, it was part of Deerfield Township.