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.
Goldvein is an unincorporated hamlet in Fauquier County, Virginia, running along US Route 17, and located approximately 15 miles northwest of Fredericksburg, Virginia at latitude 38.45 & longitude -77.66. It has a population of approximately 200. It is home to Monroe Park, which houses a museum of Virginia gold mining. At one time, there were up to 18 active gold mines in the Goldvein area, although none of them are still active commercially.