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.
Andrews is a city in and the county seat of Andrews County in the U.S. state of Texas within the West Texas region. The population was 9,652 at the 2000 census. Along with Midland and Odessa, these cities form the Midland-Odessa Combined Statistical Area with a population of 241,316 in four counties. Andrews was the fastest growing micropolitan in 2008. Andrews was incorporated on February 2, 1937. Both the city and county were named for Richard Andrews, the first Texan soldier to die in the Texas Revolution. United States Highway 385 (north-south) and Texas State Highway 115 (east-west) intersect through Andrews.