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.
Baraga is a village in Baraga County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,285 at the 2000 census. The village is named after Bishop Frederic Baraga. The village is located in Baraga Township on the L'Anse Bay on Lake Superior at the junction of US 41 and M-38. The Baraga ZIP code 49908 also serves areas of northern and northwestern Baraga Township. The post office opened with the name Bristol on June 29, 1869 and changed to Baraga on May 11, 1870.