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.
Highland City is a census-designated place (CDP) in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,051 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. While Highland City's street addresses put them on the Lakeland street grid- most street names have "SE" in their name indicating that they are southeast of Lakeland's "point zero" intersection of Florida Avenue and Main Street, Highland City is often considered to be culturally closer to Bartow than Lakeland. The only school in Highland City, Highland City Elementary, primarily feeds into Bartow Middle schools and Bartow High School. Unlike its nearest neighbor, Lakeland Highlands which is somewhat affluent, Highland City is a working class area with many mobile homes.