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.
Lenoir City is a city in Loudon County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 6,819 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. Lenoir City is located in eastern Tennessee, southwest of Knoxville, on the Tennessee River. Fort Loudoun Dam is nearby.