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.
Brooklyn is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,367 at the 2000 census. It is located just off of U.S. Highway 6 and a few miles north of Interstate 80. Near the center of town Brooklyn boasts a large display of flags from each of the fifty states, the four branches of the military, and a smattering of others. The city bills itself as "Brooklyn: Community of Flags."