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.
Adamstown is a borough in Berks and Lancaster counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The population was 1,203 at the 2000 census. It was initially founded on 4 July 1761 by William Addams on the site of a former village of native Americans, and Addams named the community "Addamsburry". The community was incorporated as a borough on 2 April 1850. The town promotes itself as the "antiques capital of the United States" because it attracts many antiques dealers and collectors. Adamstown is home to the Stoudt's Brewery, Pennsylvania's first microbrewery, which was established here in 1987.