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.
Towanda is a borough in and the county seat of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, United States, 66 miles (106 km) northwest of Wilkes Barre, on the Susquehanna River. The name means "burial ground" in the Algonquian language. Settled in 1784 and incorporated in 1828, Towanda was once known primarily for its industrial interests, which included flour, planing and silk mills, a foundry and machine shop, dye works, and manufactories of talking machines, cut glass, toys and furniture. The population in 1900 was 4,663 and, in 1910, 4,281. The population was 3,024 at the 2000 census.