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.
Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 33,706. It is the county seat of Knox County. Galesburg is home to Knox College, a private four-year liberal arts college, and Carl Sandburg College, a two-year community college. Galesburg City Township is an active township that is coterminous with the city. Galesburg is the principal city of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Knox and Warren counties.