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.
Hershey is a census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The community is located 14 miles east of Harrisburg and is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Hershey has no legal status as an incorporated municipality and all municipal services are provided by Derry Township. The population was 12,771 at the 2000 census. Hershey was originally named Derry Church, Pennsylvania, for schools, and official purposes it is known as Derry Township. It was renamed Hershey in 1906 after the growing popularity of Hershey's Chocolate. It is popularly called "Chocolatetown, USA. " Hershey is also referred to as "The Sweetest Place on Earth."