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.
Winslow is a city in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 9,931. It was named for either Edward F. Winslow, president of St. Louis and San Francisco Rail Road, which owned one half of the old Atlantic and Pacific Railroad or Tom Winslow, a prospector who lived in the area. The last Harvey House (the La Posada Hotel) opened in 1930. It was designed by Mary Colter. The hotel closed in 1957 and was used by the Santa Fe Railroad for offices. The city, which was a stop on the U.S. Route 66, was bypassed by I-40 in the 1970s. It achieved national fame in 1972 in the Eagles song “Take it Easy” which had the verse “standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona. " The Santa Fe Railroad abandoned the La Posada in 1994 and announced plans to tear it down. It was saved and now caters to Route 66 fans.