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.
Womelsdorf, named after John Womelsdorf, is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,599 at the 2000 census. The main thoroughfares through Womelsdorf is High Street which runs east-west through the borough and Route 419 which runs north-south. Route 422 is located on the northern edge of town. A Pennsylvania state historic site, the Conrad Weiser Homestead, is located in Womelsdorf. This site interprets the life of Conrad Weiser, a well-known 18th century German immigrant who played a major role in the history of colonial Pennsylvania.