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.
Bovey is a city in Itasca County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 662 at the 2000 census. U.S. Route 169 served as a main arterial route in the community. However, in late 2007, construction was completed on a new section of highway that bypasses the city.