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.
Port Allen is a city in and the parish seat of West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States. Port Allen is located between Interstate 10 and US Highway 190 on the West bank of the Mississippi River. The population was 5,278 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area. Port Allen is home to the Mississippi Riverfront Development which provides a breathtaking panoramic view of the Mississippi River and Baton Rouge, the West Baton Rouge Museum, the City of Port Allen Railroad Depot, Scott's Cemetery, the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, the Port Allen Lock.