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.
Aurora is an unincorporated community in Preston County, West Virginia, United States. Aurora was originally a German settlement. The town was originally called Salem and later Mount Carmel. Its current name was suggested because of the town's high altitude. One of the original settlers to the area was John Stough, a Lutheran minister. The primary industries throughout the early and mid 1800s were farming and timber. In the late 1880s the town became known as a resort atrea thanks to several large hotels which were built in the area. Some of these featured casinos, pools, and concert halls. In the 1930s an artist colony formed in the nearby Youghiogheny Forest area. Aurora is located on U.S. Route 50 between the Maryland state line and the town of Rowlesburg. Cathedral State Park is located to the east of Aurora's post office.