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.
Bainbridge is a town in Monroe Township, Putnam County, Indiana, United States. The population was 743 at the 2000 census. This town was named after the prominent war hero of the time William Bainbridge. He was one of the captains of the original 6 frigates of the US navy. When Indiana officially became a state in 1816, Bainbridge's name was as well known and revered then as any celebrity today. He is perhaps most notoriously known, however, for grounding the U.S.S. Philadelphia on shoals outside of Tripoli. Bainbridge was good friends with Stephen Decatur (another prominent captain), who is honored to have Decatur, IN also named after him.