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.
Ransom Canyon is a town in Lubbock County of West Texas, United States. The population was 1,011 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Lubbock Metropolitan Statistical Area. Ransom Canyon has some unusually designed homes, including the Lawson Rock House and the Steel House, both designed by Robert R. Bruno (1945-2008). The steel house was featured on an episode of Texas Country Reporter with Bob Phillips shortly before Bruno's death. File:Lawson Castle in Ransom Canyon, TX IMG 0162. JPG|The Lawson Rock House in Ransom Canyon File:Ransom Canyon Steel House 2009. JPG|Robert Bruno's Steel House overlooking the rim at Ransom Canyon.