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.
White Owl (also Whiteowl) is an unincorporated community in east central Meade County, South Dakota, United States. It lies along Highway 34 east of the city of Sturgis, the county seat of Meade County. Its elevation is 2,792 feet (851 m), and it is located at 44°35′32″N 102°25′51″W / 44.59222°N 102.43083°W / 44.59222; -102.43083 (44.5922110, -102.4307210). Board on Geographic Names officially designated it "White Owl" in 1906. Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 57792.