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.
Bessemer is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,148. It is the county seat of Gogebic County. The city is situated within Bessemer Township, but is politically independent. It is on US 2 with Ironwood several miles to the west and Wakefield several miles to the east. The Big Powderhorn, Blackjack and Indianhead ski areas are located within a few miles of Bessemer. Cross-country skiing and snowmobiling are also very popular in this area known as Big Snow country because of heavy snowfall influenced by nearby Lake Superior.