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.
Smoketown is a small farming village in East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, west of Bird-in-Hand at the intersection of Pennsylvania Route 340 (Old Philadelphia Pike) and Pennsylvania Route 896 (Eastbrook Rd). Also known as Smoke Town, it is served by the Smoketown Airport. As of 2000, it has a population of 119.