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.
The Town of Granby is a Statutory Town that is the most populous town in Grand County, Colorado, United States. Granby is situated along U.S. Highway 40 in Middle Park about 85 miles (136.8 km) west of Denver, Colorado, southwest of Rocky Mountain National Park. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 1525. The town was founded in 1904 along the route of the Denver, Northwestern & Pacific Railway, and incorporated one year later. It was named after Granby Hillyer, a Denver lawyer who later served as the United States Attorney for that city's district.