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.
Morgan City (previously known as Brashear) is a city in St. Martin and St. Mary parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 12,703 at the 2000 census. The St. Mary Parish portion of Morgan City is part of the Morgan City Micropolitan Statistical Area, while the small St. Martin Parish portion is part of the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area.