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.
Monticello is a city in Jones County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,607 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area. For many years, U.S. Highway 151 went directly through Monticello. In 2004, a four lane bypass around Monticello was completed and opened. As a result, the highway was moved about a mile south of the previous route.