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.
Protem is an unincorporated community in southeastern Taney County, Missouri, United States, about ten miles north of the Arkansas state line. It is located on Route 125. A fire station, a post office, and some homes are located there. The community was founded in 1870. The name comes from pro tempore (Latin for "temporary"), because the original community could not settle on a name and a temporary one (which became permanent) was needed. The community was jokingly boycotted by the alternative rock band Inferno Armadillo in 2008 following a report that a dozen armadillos were killed in a day by a local resident. The band encouraged fans to avoid spending money at the Protem Post Office. Protem is part of the Branson, Missouri Micropolitan Statistical Area.