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.
Paynesville is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States, on Lake Koronis in the central part of the state. The population was 2,267 at the 2000 census. It is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area. Minnesota State Highways 4, 23, and 55 are three of the main arterial routes in the city.