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.
Boerne is a city in the Hill Country of Texas in the United States. It is the county seat of Kendall County. Boerne was named in honor of Ludwig Börne, a German author and publicist, and its population was 6,178 at the 2000 census. The July 1, 2008 Census estimate showed Boerne with a population of 10,283. The city is noted for the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case City of Boerne v. Flores. Boerne is part of the San Antonio–New Braunfels Metropolitan Statistical Area.