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.
Smithfield is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 854 at the 2000 census. It is served by the Albert Gallatin Area School District. The town's largest employer is a small wire producing plant run by Nelson Steel.