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.
Beecher is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,033 at the 2000 census. It was founded in 1870 and was named for Henry Ward Beecher. Beecher failed to appear at the town's dedication. It was incorporated as a village in 1884. Originally governed by a village president and board of trustees, in 1988 a village administrator was hired to handle daily tasks. The city clerk is an appointed position. It is located on the old Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad and the Dixie Highway. It is located in the center of Washington Township and was originally named Washington Center.