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.
Goliad is a city in Goliad County, Texas, United States. It had a population of 1,975 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Goliad County. It is part of the Victoria, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area. The San Antonio River, best known for the River Walk in San Antonio, passes through Goliad en route to the Gulf of Mexico. Goliad is located on U.S. Highway 59, named also for the late U.S. Senator Lloyd M. Bentsen.