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.
Pickerington, founded in 1815, is a city in Fairfield and Franklin counties in the central region of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is a suburb of Columbus. The population was 9,792 at the 2000 census. As land annexation, development, and in-migration in and around Columbus continues, the city of Pickerington (like many area suburbs) has generally followed suit: its population was estimated at 17,531 as of July, 2008. The Ohio Secretary of State certified Pickerington as a city in 1991. At 11.1 square miles, Pickerington is the second largest city in Fairfield County. The City of Pickerington is located just east of Columbus, Ohio. The city features a historic downtown shopping area, while Violet Township is home to rolling hills, long horses, forests, and fields.