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.
Nekoma is a city in Cavalier County, North Dakota in the United States. The population was 51 at the 2000 census. Nekoma was founded in 1905. Of particular interest in Nekoma is the Safeguard Program anti-ballistic missile complex, with a large pyramid structure visible from miles in every direction.