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.
Cumberland City is a town in Stewart County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 316 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Clarksville, TN — KY Metropolitan Statistical Area. Cumberland City is the site of a TVA Cumberland Power Plant along the Cumberland River that provides 2.6 GW of electric power to much of the area, including the cities of Clarksville in Montgomery County and Dickson in Dickson County. The power plant's towers (some of the tallest structures in the state) can be seen for at least 30 miles (48 km) away.