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.
Flandreau is a city in Moody County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,376 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Moody County. It was named in honor of Charles Eugene Flandrau, a judge in the territory and state of Minnesota, who is credited with saving the community of New Ulm, Minnesota from destruction during conflict with the Sioux in 1862.