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.
Troy Mills is an unincorporated community in northern Linn County, Iowa, United States. It lies along local roads north of the city of Cedar Rapids, the county seat of Linn County. Its elevation is 869 feet (265 m), and it is located at 42°17′24″N 91°40′57″W / 42.29°N 91.6825°W / 42.29; -91.6825 (42.2899905, -91.6823925). Although Troy Mills is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 52344, which opened on 10 June 1867.