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.
Waxahachie is a city in Ellis County, Texas, United States. The population was 21,426 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Ellis County. Waxahachie was the birthplace of Tom Blasingame, considered the oldest cowboy in the history of the American West, R&B singer Tevin Campbell, and also of Byron Nelson, a professional golf legend. According to An Informal History of Texas by Frank X. Tolbert, "Waxahachie" is an Indian word meaning "cow creek."