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.
Clayton is a village in Lenawee County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 326. The village is situated on the boundary between Hudson Township on the west and Dover Township on the east, with a portion of the village in each. M-34 (or W. Carleton Rd. ) passes along the south side of the village, while M-156 has its northern terminus at the junction with M-34. The road, also known as Morey Highway, continues north through the village.