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.
Grays River is an unincorporated rural village in Wahkiakum County, Washington, United States. Grays River stands on the north bank of the lower Grays River, which flows into the Columbia River estuary. The National Register of Historic Places-listed Grays River Covered Bridge crosses the Grays River in the community. It is the only such bridge still in use in Washington. A low-power repeater in the community rebroadcasts Oregon Public Broadcasting television programming. Another repeater rebroadcasts KBTC-TV, the PBS affiliate in Tacoma, Washington. The ZIP code for Grays River is 98621.