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.
Brighton is an unincorporated community in southern Polk County, Missouri, United States. It is located at the intersection of Route 13 and Route 215 about fifteen miles north of Springfield. Brighton is part of the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area.