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.
Abernathy is a city in Hale and Lubbock counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 2,839 at the 2000 census. The Hale County portion of Abernathy is part of the Plainview Micropolitan Statistical Area, while the Lubbock County portion is part of the Lubbock Metropolitan Statistical Area.