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.
Pomeroy is a village in Meigs County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,966 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Meigs County. During the late 19th century, Pomeroy was an important producer of coal and salt. The first coal barges on the Ohio River were loaded there.