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.
Norwalk is a city in Polk and Warren counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 6,884 at the 2000 census. The city is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located just south of the Des Moines International Airport. It is the hometown of actors Brandon Routh, star of the film Superman Returns, and Jason Momoa, star of the television show Stargate: Atlantis.