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.
Penokee is an unincorporated community in Graham County, Kansas, United States, in the Solomon Valley. It was founded by Ben Chadsey and was originally established under the name of Reford in 1888. It grew from the Union Pacific Railroad going through town. Because the town became mistaken for Rexford, Kansas, the residents renamed their town after the Penokee Mountains near Lake Superior.