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.
Weimar is a city in Colorado County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,981 at the 2000 census. In 1873 the town was founded as Jackson, but subsequently called Weimar in tribute to the German city of Weimar. Located on Interstate 10 and US 90 between San Antonio, Austin, and Houston, Weimar is a small community of predominately Czech and German descendants. Weimar is famous for Kasper's sausage, which draws a crowd every Saturday to Kasper's Meat Market in downtown Weimar. There is also a strong history of baseball in Weimar. The Veterans Park (Strickland Field) was ahead of its time when it was built in 1948, and was the first lighted baseball field between San Antonio and Houston. The Veterans Park remains a state-of-the-art baseball stadium, having hosted a Babe Ruth League World Series Tournament in 2005. Weimar was the place where Norman J. Sirnic and Karen Sirnic were murdered by serial killer Angel Maturino Resendiz on May 2, 1999. Their parsonage was adjacent to the train tracks.