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.
Mitchellville is a city in Polk and Jasper counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 1,715 at the 2000 census. The Polk County portion of Mitchellville is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Jasper County portion is part of the Newton Micropolitan Statistical Area. The Iowa Correctional Institution for Women is located in Mitchellville.