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.
Brighton is a village located mostly in Macoupin County, Illinois and partially in Jersey County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 2,196, and the population was 2,376 in the 2008 official US Census estimate. The village's current mayor is Wayne Schafer. Brighton is a part of the Metro-East region and the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area.