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.
Willow Grove is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, about 10 miles north of Philadelphia. The population was 16,234 at the 2000 census. Willow Grove was once known for Willow Grove Park, an amusement park that was open from 1896 to 1976, now the site of Willow Grove Park Mall. Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove is located northwest of the Willow Grove CDP in Horsham Township. NAS JRB Willow Grove will continue operating through 2010, and closure will occur by September 2011.