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.
Mechanicstown is an unincorporated community in northwestern Fox Township, Carroll County, Ohio, United States. Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 44651. It lies at the intersection of State Routes 39 and 524. The community is part of the Canton–Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area.