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.
Manistique is a city in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 3,583. It is the county seat of Schoolcraft County and the only incorporated community in the county. The city lies on the north shore of Lake Michigan, at the southwest corner of Manistique Township, but is politically autonomous. Manistique was founded where the Manistique River flows into Lake Michigan, forming somewhat of a natural harbor, which has since been improved with breakwaters, dredging, and a lighthouse. The river also provides water for a paper mill, Manistique Papers, which forms a large portion of the local economy. The economy also depends heavily on tourism. The city is also the first setting of the musical The Christmas Schooner.