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.
Bellevue (French for "Beautiful View") is a city in Sarpy County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 44,382 at the 2000 census. Eight miles south of Omaha, Bellevue is part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. Incorporated in 1855, it is the oldest city in Nebraska.