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.
Hettinger is a city in Adams County, North Dakota in the United States. It is the county seat of Adams County. The population was 1,307 at the 2000 census. Hettinger was founded in 1907. The city and its surrounding township, were named in recognition of Hettinger County, from which Adams County was created in 1907.