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.
Cartwright is an unincorporated community in northwestern McKenzie County, North Dakota, United States. The community is named for Samuel George Cartwright, a rancher, trapper, and hunter, who was the first settler in the area. It lies along North Dakota Highway 200 west of the city of Watford City, the county seat of McKenzie County. Its elevation is 1,906 feet (581 m). Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 58838.