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.
Stark City is a village in Newton County, Missouri, United States. The population was 156 at the 2000 census, at which time it was a town. It is part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was formerly called Chester, but was renamed in the 1930s for the Stark Brother's Nursery, which was a previous prevalent industry to the town and its close neighbor, Newtonia. It is adjacent to the battlefield of the Second Battle of Newtonia.