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.
Galion is a city in Crawford, Morrow, and Richland counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 11,341 at the 2000 census. Galion is the second-largest city in Crawford County. The Crawford County portion of Galion is part of the Bucyrus Micropolitan Statistical Area. The small portion of the city that is located in Richland County is part of the Mansfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the portion extending into Morrow County is considered part of the Columbus Metropolitan Statistical Area.