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.
Buxton is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Oregon, United States, near Oregon Route 47. The Buxton area was settled by Henry T. Buxton in 1884, and the town was named for his family, including his father, also named Henry Buxton, a pioneer of 1841. A post office was established on December 27, 1886, with Henry T. Buxton as the first postmaster. Buxton was also the name of a station on the Portland, Astoria & Pacific Railroad above Mendenhall Creek east of the community. The post office continued until at least 1976 and had a zip code of 97109.