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.
Bergheim is an unincorporated community in eastern Kendall County, Texas, United States. It lies along State Highway 46 southeast of the city of Boerne, the county seat of Kendall County. Its elevation is 1,437 feet (438 m). Although Bergheim is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 78004; the ZCTA for ZIP Code 78004 had a population of 676 at the 2000 census. The community is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bergheim, meaning "Mountain Home" in German, was founded by Austria immigrant Andreas Engel, who moved to the area and established a store in 1900. The community's post office was established in 1901. Ranching has long been the mainstay of Bergheim's economy, although the harvesting of cedar lumber has been important at certain times in its history.