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.
Henderson is a city in Rusk County, Texas, United States. The population was 11,273 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Rusk County. Henderson is named for James Pinckney Henderson, the first governor of the state of Texas. Annual events in the city of Henderson include the Heritage Syrup Festival in November, celebrating the east Texas tradition of syrup making, and the East Texas Sacred Harp Convention in August. Henderson is the home of the Texas Baptist Institute and Seminary, a Missionary Baptist institution.