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.
Crystal City is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,538 at the estimated 2008 census. It was 4,247 at the 2000 census. Crystal City and its neighbor Festus are often collectively known as the "Twin Cities"; however, they are incorporated separately.