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.
Matoaka is a small town in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 317 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Bluefield, WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,578. The town is named for Matoaka, daughter of the chief of the Powhatan, and better known as Pocahontas.