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.
Markham is a small, unincorporated community in Fauquier County, Virginia, along State Route 55 and off Interstate 66. It is home to the Naked Mountain Vineyard, its own post office, and ZIP Code of 22643. The Manassas Gap railway runs through the community.