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.
New Town is a city in Mountrail County, North Dakota in the United States. The population was 1,367 at the 2000 census. New Town was founded in 1953 to replace the city of Sanish which was planned to be covered by Lake Sakakawea. It is the largest city and administrative center of the Fort Berthold Reservation. New Town is home to Fort Berthold Community College.