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.
Curtin is an unincorporated community in Douglas County, Oregon, United States. It is on Interstate 5 and the former Southern Pacific railroad line about seven miles northeast of Drain. The community was named for Daniel Curtin, who was a local sawmill owner in the 1890s. Curtin post office was established in May 1908. Its ZIP code was 97428, but as of 2009, Curtin post office had closed out to Cottage Grove.