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.
Silverdale is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kitsap County, Washington, in the United States. The population was 15,816 at the 2000 census. Despite many attempts at incorporation, Silverdale remains an unincorporated community. Silverdale ranks 158th of 522 areas in Washington for which per capita income data is collected.