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.
Rockport is a census-designated place (CDP) in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The population was 102 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area. Based on per capita income, Rockport ranks 48th of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked.