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.
La Crosse is a city in Rush County, Kansas, United States. The population was 1,376 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Rush County. It has been referred to as "The Barbed Wire Capital of the World" and is home to the Kansas Barbed Wire Museum.