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.
Jonesville is an unincorporated community in the town of Richmond in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. There is a town water system from the 1930s, according to the Burlington Free Press (fall 2000). In addition to residential areas, the Jonesville business district is active with at least eleven businesses. There is a small post office in Jonesville, which uses the zip code 05466. Hikers from the Long Trail pick up their packages at the post office.