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.
Lonoke is the second most populous city in Lonoke County, Arkansas, United States, and serves as its county seat. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 4,553. It is part of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area.