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.
Strongsville is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 43,858 as of the 2000 Census. The current mayor, Thomas Perciak, was elected in November 2003 following the death of longtime mayor Walter F. Ehrnfelt on May 25, 2003. The city's nickname is 'Crossroads of the Nation,' as this is where the Ohio Turnpike and Interstate 71 intersect.