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.
Hiwasse is an unincorporated community in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. It is the location of (or is the nearest community to) Hiwasse Bank Building, which is located at Main St. , AR 279 and Banks House, which is located on AR 72, W of Hiwasse. Both are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Hiwasse faced a great diversion in 2007-2008 when two groups faced off about the incorporation of Hiwasse, in the end the voters decided not to incorporate.