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.
Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 52,693, ranking it as the seventh most populous city in the state. According to the 2007 US Census Estimate, Pine Bluff now has a population of 50,667 The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is located here. Pine Bluff is also the home of the Pine Bluff Arsenal, a major site for the demolition of chemical weapons.