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.
Laporte (also spelled LaPorte) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The population was 2,691 at the 2000 census. The Laporte Post Office has the ZIP Code 80535. The community is located on the Cache La Poudre River northwest of Fort Collins, near the place where the river emerges from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.