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.
Virden is a city in Macoupin and Sangamon counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 3,488 at the 2000 census. The Macoupin County portion of Virden is part of the St. Louis, Missouri–Illinois Metropolitan Statisical Area, while the Sangamon County portion is part of the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The region around the Virden area is where the two metropolitan areas meet.