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.
Puyallup, Washington is a city in Pierce County, Washington about five miles east of Tacoma. The population was 33,011 at the 2000 census. Named after the Puyallup Tribe of Native Americans, Puyallup means "the generous people."