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.
Rochester is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. According to a special village census held in 2006, the population is 3,442. The population was 2,893 at the 2000 national census. The village was settled in 1819, and is located in Rochester Township. Rochester is part of the Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.