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.
Preston is a small community located in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma. The post office was established December 13, 1909. It was named for an Okmulgee oilman, Harry Preston. Unrecognizable from the past, Preston was once a highly prosperous community, thriving mainly from the oil boom as did many of the surrounding communities. Later on, as the oil industry quieted in Preston, it served as a station for restocking trains and running cattle trails, loading water from Frisco lake. Many remnants of the station may be found throughout parts of Preston. Additionally, many old cattle trails and roads, though overgrown, are still distinguishable as such due to the heavy use and traffic. It currently has one school, three churches, a single gas station, feed store, heating and a/c shop, and an acclaimed small hamburger shop. Today, many of its occupants enjoy life there, but typically work elsewhere in the county.