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.
Kingman (Huwaalyapay Nyava in Mojave) is the county seat of Mohave County, Arizona. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 27,271. The nearby communities of Butler and Golden Valley, Ariz. bring the Kingman area's total population to about 48,000.