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.
Manassas is an independent city surrounded by Prince William County and the independent city of Manassas Park in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Manassas also surrounds the 38 acre county seat for Prince William County but that county property is not part of the city. Manassas either contains or is close to several important historic sites from the period 1850 - 70. Its population was about 35,135 at the time of the U.S. Census 2000. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Manassas (along with Manassas Park) with Prince William County for statistical purposes. The City of Manassas is part of the Washington Metropolitan Area and it is situated in the Northern Virginia region.