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.
Saint Meinrad is an unincorporated town in Harrison Township, Spencer County, Indiana, along the Anderson River and just off Interstate 64. It is home to the St. Meinrad Archabbey. It is situated about 55 miles east of Evansville. Because of the archabbey, St. Meinrad, along with Harrison Township, lies within the Archdiocese of Indianapolis instead of the much closer Diocese of Evansville, in which lies the rest of Spencer County.