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.
Columbus is the capital and largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the state's third largest metropolitan area, behind Cleveland and Cincinnati. It is the county seat of Franklin County, although parts of the city also extend into Delaware and Fairfield counties. Named for explorer Christopher Columbus, the city was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and assumed the functions of state capital in 1816. The population was 711,470 at the 2000 census. In 2008, Columbus was the 16th largest city in the United States, with 754,885 residents, and was also the 32nd largest metropolitan area, the fourth largest city in the Midwest, and the third most populous state capital in the U.S. According to the U.S. Census, the metropolitan area has a population of 1,773,120, and the Combined Statistical Area has a population of 1,982,252. Columbus is located within 550 miles (890 km) of half of the population of the United States. The city has a diverse economy based on education, insurance, banking, fashion, defense, aviation, food, logistics, steel, energy, medical research, health care, hospitality, retail, and technology.