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 historic City of Gunnison is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. As of the U.S. Census 2000, the city had a total population of 5,409. The city was named in honor of John W. Gunnison, a United States Army officer who surveyed for the transcontinental railroad in 1853. Gunnison is the home of Western State College of Colorado. The Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport serves the valley and nearby Crested Butte, Colorado with both commercial airline and general aviation flights. Gunnison's newspaper, Gunnison Country Times, is published weekly. There are also various radio stations that serve the area, including KWSB-FM (91.1), which is affiliated with Western State College. KBUT of Crested Butte also simulcasts NPR broadcasts at 89.9 FM.