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.
Baldwin is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 1,107. It is the county seat of Lake County. The village is located on the boundary between Webber Township on the north and Pleasant Plains Township on the south, with the larger portion lying in Pleasant Plains.