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.
Ridgedale is an unincorporated community in southern Taney County, Missouri, United States. It lies about ten miles south of Branson on U.S. Route 65 near the Arkansas state line. Several homes, a few businesses, and a post office are located there. The community is part of the Branson, Missouri Micropolitan Statistical Area.