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.
Hazen is a city in Mercer County, North Dakota in the United States. The population was 2,457 at the 2000 census. Hazen was founded in 1913. Hazen has a K-12 school system. Because of its proximity to Beulah, a town of similar size about 10 km (5 mi) away, Hazen is rarely mentioned by itself but rather as Hazen-Beulah. It is located about a half an hour away from the largest lake in North Dakota.