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.
Chisholm is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, USA. The population was 4,960 at the 2000 census. Along with Hibbing Minnesota, this area was called "meebeega" by the people of the Chippewa tribe. It is roughly translated to mean "rough earth". U.S. Highway 169 and State Highway 73 are two of the main arterial routes in the city. A mining town on the Mesabi Range, Chisholm was founded by Archibald Mark Chisholm.