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.
Miami is a major city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida, in the United States. Miami is the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which had a 2008 population of 5,414,712; ranking 7th largest in the U.S.. The Miami Urbanized Area (as defined by the Census Bureau) was the fifth most populous urbanized area in the U.S. in the 2000 census with a population of 4,919,036. In 2008, the population of the Miami urbanized area had increased to 5,232,342, becoming the fourth-largest urbanized area in the United States, behind New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Miami is a well-known global city due to its importance in finance, commerce, culture, fashion, print media, entertainment, the arts and international trade. An international center for popular entertainment in television, music, fashion, film, and the performing arts, Miami also has a powerful international influence. The city is also home to the largest concentration of international banks in the United States, as well as home to many international company headquarters, and television studios. The city's Port of Miami is the number one cruise/passenger port in the world and is known for accommodating the largest volume of cruise ships in the world, and is home to many major cruise line headquarters.