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.
Bidwell is a small unincorporated village in northwestern Springfield Township, Gallia County, Ohio, United States, and is often associated with the nearby community of Porter. Although unincorporated, it has its own ZIP Code of 45614. Bidwell is located eleven miles from the county seat, Gallipolis. It is located at an elevation of 682 feet (208 m). Bidwell is part of the Point Pleasant, WV–OH Micropolitan Statistical Area.