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.
Occoquan is a town in Prince William County in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 759 at the 2000 census. The town is a suburb of Washington, D.C. and is adjacent to Woodbridge. The current Mayor is Earnest "Earnie" Porta, who was first elected in 2006, and won re-election in 2008.