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.
Sonora is the county seat of Sutton County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,924 at the 2000 census. It is also one of the leading speed trap cities in West Texas, averaging more than 48,000 citations per year (over 10 per year per capita). Former State Senator and Lieutenant Governor Bill Ratliff of Mount Pleasant was reared in Sonora and graduated from high school there.