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.
Kinder is a town in Allen Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,148 at the 2000 census. The Lieutenant Douglas B. Fournet Memorial Park, an American Legion enterprise, was dedicated on June 11, 1988, in Kinder to remember those who died in military service to the nation. Kinder was the birthplace of the late Mayor J. Rayburn Bertrand of Lafayette, who served from 1960-1972 and presided over the near doubling of the municipal population. Kinder is home to Coushatta Casino Resort, the largest casino resort in Louisiana. The resort includes Koasati Pines, an 18-hole par 72 championship layout golf course.