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.
Hye is an unincorporated community in western Blanco County, Texas, United States. It lies along U.S. Route 290 west of the city of Johnson City, the county seat of Blanco County. Its elevation is 1,453 feet (443 m). Although Hye is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 78635.