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.
Newberry is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Luce County. Located within McMillan Township at its very southern end, it shares some administrative responsibilities with the surrounding township. The population was 2,686 at the 2000 census. Newberry is surrounded by miles of state and national forests and is considered one of two gateways to the Tahquamenon Falls area. (The other is Paradise, approximately 40 miles to the northeast. ) Newberry was designated as the moose capital of Michigan by the state legislature, in House Resolution 2002-572 and Senate Resolution 2002-259. It is home to the Newberry Correctional Facility, operating since 1996. In August 2007, the Sleeper Lakes Fire burned for several weeks north of Newberry, and firefighting efforts were coordinated from this village. The Newberry High School football team competes each year for the Little Brown Jug of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, a rivalry game with Sault Sainte Marie dating back to 1913.