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.
Scottsbluff is a city in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 14,732 at the 2000 census. Scottsbluff is the largest city in Scotts Bluff County and the 12th largest city in Nebraska, as well as being the panhandle's largest city. Scottsbluff was founded in 1900 across the North Platte River from its namesake, a bluff which is now a National Park called Scotts Bluff National Monument. The smaller town of Gering had been founded south of the river and the two cities have since grown together to form the 7th largest urban area in Nebraska. The nearby Western Nebraska Regional Airport (BFF) is the third busiest airport in Nebraska in terms of passenger boardings.