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.
Belcourt is a census-designated place (CDP) in Rolette County, North Dakota in the United States. The population was 2,440 at the 2000 census. The community is the seat of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. Belcourt was originally known as "Siipiising," which is Anishinabe (Chippewa) for "creek that sings with life-giving water;" the name was a reference to Ox Creek, which flows through the center of town.