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.
Birch Run is a village in Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,653 at the 2000 census. The village is located within Birch Run Township. Birch Run is home to one of the largest outlet malls in the United States. Birch Run was the home of the Great Lakes Storm, a defunct member of the Continental Basketball Association. The Storm played in the Birch Run Expo Center from 2001 until they disbanded in 2005.