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.
Fruitland is a city in Payette County, Idaho, United States. It lies along U.S. Route 95 in the Treasure Valley of southwest Idaho, about 50 miles west of Boise and near the border with Oregon. Fruitland is named after the apple orchards that surround the community, and its slogan is "The Big Apple of Idaho. " As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 3,805. It is part of the Ontario, OR–ID Micropolitan Statistical Area.