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.
Fate is a city in Rockwall County, Texas, United States. The 2000 Census showed the city's population at 497. A census by the North Texas Central Council of Governments in 2006 showed the city's population at 3,300. Based on current water bills, the city's population is estimated at 5,139. The citizens recently approved a home rule charter, thus establishing home rule in Fate. The city hired its first paid Fire Chief in 2006 and an Assistant Chief/Fire Marshal in 2008.