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.
Graniteville is an unincorporated community in Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. It lies along U.S. 1, five miles (8 km) west of Aiken. The town straddles Horse Creek which originates in the nearby town of Vaucluse. Graniteville is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area.