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.
Paluxy is an unincorporated community in Hood County, Texas, United States. The community is located on Farm to Market Road 51, fifteen miles southwest of Granbury. It was part of Erath County until 1866, when Hood County was created. Paluxy was named after the Paluxy River that runs through it. In 1887, the population of Paluxy was approximately 100. That figure rose to 164 in 1900, but steadily declined through the century. Current estimates put the population at around 80. Paluxy residents rely on larger, incorporated cities for some services. The local newspaper is published in Granbury and area students attend school in nearby Tolar.