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.
Smithburg is a unincorporated community in Doddridge County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located along U.S. Route 50. Middle Island Creek, the longest river to be called a creek, is formed in Smithburg by the confluence of Meathouse Fork and Buckeye Creek. The North Bend Rail Trail passes through the community.