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.
Charlotte is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,389. It is the county seat of Eaton County. Charlotte is in the central portion of the county, on the boundary between Eaton Township and Carmel Township, though politically independent of both. Interstate 69 serves the city, and connects it to the state capital of Lansing. It is located 21.5 miles (34.6 kilometers) from downtown Lansing.