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.
Cedar Springs is a city in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan, 20 minutes north of Grand Rapids, Known as "Red Flannel Town," the city is home to an annual Red Flannel Festival. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 3,112. The city's official mission statement is "The City of Cedar Springs strives to be a great place to live, work and play."