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.
Leland is a city in Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 4,790 at the 2008 census. The town is located in the heart of the Mississippi Delta on the banks of Deer Creek, which is decorated each Christmas season with floats that bring visitors from afar to view the colorful displays. Farming is the basis of the local economy, and Mississippi State University and the federal government maintain a huge agriculture research station at Stoneville, Mississippi on Leland's outskirts. Cotton, soybeans and catfish are the leading crops. Leland is in the heart of blues country and has produced a number of national and regionally famous blues musicians. Highway 61, famous in any number of blues recordings, runs through the town and gives its name to the community's blues museum. The community also is the birthplace of Jim Henson of Muppet fame – and one of Henson's more famous creations, Kermit the Frog. A museum along the banks of Deer Creek celebrates Henson's accomplishments.