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.
Julian is an unincorporated populated place on West Virginia Route 3 in Boone County, West Virginia, United States. It is just west of U.S. Route 119. Julian was named around 1900 for Julian Hill, a prominent land owner of the area. It was at one time known as Hill. The Little Coal River flows nearby.