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.
Waldron, or Waldron Island, is an unincorporated town in San Juan County, Washington, United States. Although Waldron is not specifically tracked by the Census, the ZIP code is 98297, and this ZIP code is coextensive with Waldron Island. Neither Waldron nor Waldron Island can be considered an official name; locally, they are used interchangeably, although the post office name is Waldron. The population was 104 at the 2000 census. Despite its location in the generally well-to-do San Juan Islands, Waldron has no connections with the tourist industry and is notable for ranking among the poorest and most impoverished areas in the state of Washington. Due to the low cost of living, however, this may be seen as an inaccurate reflection of the actual quality of life.