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.
Azalea is an unincorporated community in Douglas County, Oregon, United States, about 10 miles east of Glendale on Interstate 5. Azalea was named for the abundance of azaleas in the area, including the Azalea occidentalis and the Azaleastrum albiflorum. The name Azalea was used for two different post offices in the upper Cow Creek Valley in Douglas County. A post office named "Starvout" was established in 1888. The name was changed to "Booth" in 1907 and to "Azalea" in 1914. There was a different Azalea post office in the area that ran from 1899 to 1909. Its USPS assigned ZIP Code is 97410. Azalea is the hometown of decathlete and Olympian Tom Pappas.