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.
Lansdowne is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States located 5 miles (8 km) southwest of Philadelphia. It was named for the Marquess of Lansdowne. The borough grew quickly in the early part of the twentieth century when a railroad stop was established near the intersection of Lansdowne Avenue and Baltimore Pike. The borough is primarily residential with a commercial center near the original railroad stop. The borough also contained some light industrial buildings which have been in decline in recent decades. The borough is sometimes erroneously spelled "Landsdowne" or confused with Lansdale, in nearby Montgomery County.