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.
Paris is a city in Paris Township, Edgar County, Illinois, USA, 165 miles (276 km) south of Chicago, and 90 miles (150 km) west of Indianapolis. In 1900, 6,105 people lived in Paris, Illinois; in 1910, 7,664; and in 1940, 9,281. The population was 9,077 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Edgar County.