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.
Benge is an unincorporated community in Adams County, Washington, United States. Because it is not tracked by the U.S. Census, a Census population estimate is not available. Benge is assigned the ZIP code 99105. The town is serviced by the Benge School District, and downtown Benge contains Benge Elementary School. As of the 2000 census, the Benge ZIP code (99105) had a population of 57 persons, with 33 housing units. The median household income was $37,500.