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.
Stanton is a city in Mercer County, North Dakota in the United States. It is the county seat of Mercer County. The population was 345 at the 2000 census. Stanton was founded in 1882 and became the county seat in 1884. Stanton is home to the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, which houses a Hidatsa earth lodge and three abandoned villages. One of these, Awatixa, is believed to be the former home of Sakakawea.