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.
Arnaudville is a town in St. Landry and St. Martin parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 1,398 at the 2000 census. The St. Martin Parish portion of Arnaudville is part of the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the St. Landry Parish portion is part of the Opelousas–Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area.