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.
Walnut is a city in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 778 at the 2000 census. Walnut is located on Interstate 80 and is famous for its many antique stores. In recent years Walnut has become a regional center of wind turbine electrical generation.