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.
Clinton is a city in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,485 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of DeWitt County. The city and the county are named for DeWitt Clinton, governor of New York, 1817-1823. Clinton Nuclear Generating Station is located 6 miles away on Clinton Lake.