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.
Mehama is an unincorporated community in Marion County, Oregon, United States, located on Oregon Route 22 and the North Santiam River. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Mehama as a census-designated place (CDP). The census definition of the area may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with the same name. The population was 283 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area. Mehama is the eastern terminus of Oregon Route 226, and is just one mile north of Lyons, across the North Santiam.