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.
East Moline is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,333 at the 2000 census. East Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with the neighboring cites of Rock Island, Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.0 square miles (23.4 km²), all of it land. East Moline is located at 41°30′43″N 90°26′7″W / 41.51194°N 90.43528°W / 41.51194; -90.43528 (41.511940, -90.435203).