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.
Sweet is an unincorporated community in Gem County, Idaho, United States. It is located in open countryside approximately 16 miles (26 km) northeast of Emmett, along a county highway 8 miles due north of its intersection with State Highway 52. Founded in 1885 by Ezekiel Sweet, the community initially was a supply location and post office for farmers and ranchers in the nearby Lower Squaw Creek Valley. Sweet grew significantly as a result of the later Thunder Mountain Mines gold strike; by 1900, it supported three saloons, three hotels, several businesses and a newspaper, which lasted until the gold mines petered out. Several subsequent fires destroyed most of the historic downtown. Today, a smaller Sweet is the location of a restaurant and post office.