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.
Cottonwood Falls is the largest city and county seat of Chase County, Kansas. The population was 966 at the 2000 census, and it was estimated to be 955 in the year 2006. It is part of the Emporia Micropolitan Statistical Area.