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.
Ladson is a census-designated place (CDP) in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 13,264 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Charleston–North Charleston–Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. Ladson's post offices serves residents of Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties.