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.
Willmar is a city in and the county seat of Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 18,351 at the 2000 census. Willmar has been assigned ZIP code 56201 by the United States Postal Service. U.S. Routes 12 and 71; and Minnesota State Highways 23 and 40 are four of the main routes in the city.