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.
Hockley, Texas is an unincorporated community located in Harris County, Texas, United States along on Texas State Highway 6, approximately five miles southeast of the city hall of Waller, and thirty-six miles northwest of Downtown Houston. The community serves as the main hub for railway traffic serving Houston, Austin, and many parts of central Texas. The Southern Pacific rail line is one of the community's major employers. The community is surrounded by grain farms and cattle ranches.