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.
Baldwin is an unincorporated community in western Burleigh County, North Dakota, United States. It lies along U.S. Route 83 north of the city of Bismarck, the county seat of Burleigh County. Its elevation is 1,939 feet (591 m). Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 58521.