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.
Neal is an unincorporated community in eastern Greenwood County, Kansas, United States. It lies along U.S. Route 54 east of the city of Eureka, the county seat of Greenwood County. Its elevation is 961 feet (293 m), and it is located at 37°50′3″N 96°4′49″W / 37.83417°N 96.08028°W / 37.83417; -96.08028 (37.8341990, -96.0802724). Although Neal is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 66863. It was named for a minor official of the Missouri Pacific Railroad.