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.
Nezperce is a city in and the county seat of Lewis County, Idaho, United States. The population was 523 at the 2000 census. Nezperce is named for the local Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans Indians. ("Nezperce" derives from of corruption of French words nez percé, literally "pierced nose. ")