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.
Winton is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 185 at the 2000 census. It is also home to a small hydroelectric dam on the edge of Garden Lake, one of 11 stations owned by Minnesota Power. Minnesota Highway 169 serves as a main arterial route in the community.