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.
Fairfield is an unincorporated community in northeastern Billings County, North Dakota, United States. It lies along U.S. Route 85 northwest of the city of Medora, the county seat of Billings County. Its elevation is 2,756 feet (840 m). Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 58627. Fairfield is part of the Dickinson Micropolitan Statistical Area.