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.
Whitman is an unincorporated community in northeastern Grant County, Nebraska, United States. It lies along Nebraska Highway 2 east of the village of Hyannis, the county seat of Grant County. Its elevation is 3,602 feet (1,098 m), and it is located at 42°2′31″N 101°31′24″W / 42.04194°N 101.52333°W / 42.04194; -101.52333Coordinates: 42°2′31″N 101°31′24″W / 42.04194°N 101.52333°W / 42.04194; -101.52333 (42.0419371, -101.5232243). Although Whitman is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 69366.