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.
Berkeley is a village located in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Incorporated in 1924, the population at the 2000 census was 5,245. The town has a commuter railroad station on Metra's Union Pacific/West Line with service to downtown Chicago.