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.
Orondo is an unincorporated community in Douglas County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Wenatchee–East Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population of the area although not a CDP is about 500. Orondo is a growing river home community. For years the area served fruit growers with such crops as apples, cherries, pears, and peaches. The area is starting to grow with the influx of retired couples and those looking for a vacation home along the banks of the Columbia River. With warm summers and relative cheap utility rates have made Orondo an attractive home. Orondo supports one gas station/store, a restaurant, U.S. Post Office, bank branch, and multitude of fruit stands along U.S. Highway 2. Desert Canyon Golf course is also located nearby.