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.
Laredo is a city in Grundy County, Missouri, United States. The population was 250 at the 2000 census. Laredo is pronounced "la-read-oh" which varies from the traditional pronouncation. Many Missouri towns which share spellings with other locations use alternate pronouncations (i.e. Haiti, Mo being pronounced "hay-tie").