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.
Crookston is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Polk County. Its population was estimated at 7,790 in 2008. It is part of the "Grand Forks, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area" or "Greater Grand Forks". Crookston is the episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Crookston. Since Crookston is close to the larger city of Grand Forks, North Dakota, many people who live in Crookston commute to jobs in the Grand Forks area. KROX 1260 AM is Crookston's only local radio station. The local newspaper is the Crookston Daily Times.