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.
Mena is a city in Polk County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the county seat of Polk County. It was founded by Arthur Edward Stilwell during the building of the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad. The town was named after Mena Janssen de Goeijen, the wife of Stillwell's primary investor, Jan de Goeijen. The population was 5,637 as of 2000 census.