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.
Salkum is a rural unincorporated town in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The town is located on U.S. Route 12 and has a library, post office, and a fire department. Salkum is a Cowlitz Indian word meaning "boiling water", a reference to a nearby series of waterfalls on Mill Creek.