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.
Minnetonka is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, eight miles (13 km) west of Minneapolis. Its 2000 population of 51,480 makes it the fourteenth largest city in Minnesota. The word "Minnetonka" comes from the Dakota Indian mni tanka meaning "great water". The city is home to Cargill, a large privately held, multinational corporation.