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.
Plankinton is a city in Aurora County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 601 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Aurora County. Plankinton was named for Milwaukee meatpacker and hotel owner John Plankinton, a friend of Alexander Mitchell, the President of the Milwaukee Road. Plankinton was home to an annual wheat palace, which became a successful regional attraction and inspired the Corn Palace in nearby Mitchell, South Dakota.