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.
Philomont is a small unincorporated rural village in western Loudoun County, Virginia. The name is derived from the Greek word "philo" meaning "beloved" and the French word "mont" or "mountain". Thus translated Philomont means "Beloved Mountain".