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.
Albion is a village and historic district in Lincoln, Rhode Island in the United States. Albion is home to several mill buildings, churches, and the Kirkbrae Country Club golf course. The historic Blackstone River flows through the center of the mill village with a walking path running along the river. Albion Falls is a waterfall along the Blackstone River, and the Albion Bridge crosses the river just downstream from Albion Dam, built in 1916 to power Albion Mill, now a condominium complex. The word "Albion" from which the mill and village take their name is the oldest name for Great Britain. The still active Providence and Worcester Railroad passes through Albion.