What kind of system allows them to control water, gas, and electricity flow to a certain house?
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In all three cases, when they hook up water, gas, and electricity to the house they install a “meter” to measure how much of the stuff you use (somewhere near where it comes into the house), and there’s a “shut-off” outside somewhere where they can turn off the utility. Gas and water often have a valve hidden in a little covered hole in the yard or street, sometimes on the meter (with a way to lock it). For electricity, they can disconnect the wires between the source and the house. They don’t “control” who gets what so much as they have the ability to turn it on or off; you can use as much as you want as long as you pay for it.
In some places, they pay a “meter reader” person to come out and look at the numbers on you meter to see how much gas/water/electricity you used. They just wander around one day each month and jot down the numbers, which someone later types into a computer that they use to calculate your bill. A lot of newer meters have little radios built in, and a person can read the meters simply by driving down the street (you need a truck, but a lot fewer “meter readers” that way; it’s very quick and there’s a lot fewer mistakes too).
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