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.
Laporte is a borough in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 290 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Sullivan County. Laporte is surrounded by Laporte Township. It was named for John Laporte. It is the smallest county seat in Pennsylvania by population (as of the 2000 Census), and in 1969 was one of the two smallest in the United States.