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.
Big Sandy is a town in Chouteau County, Montana, United States. The population was 703 at the 2000 census. Big Sandy, Montana, is where the Big Bud 747, the largest farm tractor in the world, is located. The Lewis and Clark Trail, following U.S. Route 87, goes through Big Sandy.