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.
Johnston is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 8,649 at the 2000 census; the United States Census Bureau estimated that 15,691 residents lived there in 2008. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. Johnston is the location of the headquarters of Pioneer Hi-Bred Seeds, Iowa Public Television, and The Gardeners of America/Men's Garden Clubs of America. The Camp Dodge Military Reservation is also located here.