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.
Emigrant is an unincorporated community in Park County, Montana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the ZIP Code Tabulation Area for Emigrant had a population of 372. Emigrant is located in southern Montana, on the Yellowstone River, about 30 miles (48 km) north of Yellowstone National Park, and 20 miles (32 km) south of Livingston.