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.
Bossier City is a city in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States. "Bossier City, Louisiana (LA) Detailed Profile" (notes), City Data, 2007, webpage: C-BC. "Census 2000 Data for the State of Louisiana" (town list), US Census Bureau, May 2003, webpage: C2000-LA. As of the 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 56,461. Bossier City is closely tied to its larger sister city Shreveport, located on the western bank of the Red River. The Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area is the center of the region known as the Ark-La-Tex. Bossier is pronounced /ˈboʊʒər/, bō′·zhər. It is not the parish seat. The parish courthouse is located instead in Benton to the north of Bossier City.