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.
Yankton is a city in Yankton County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 13,528 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Yankton County. Yankton was the original capital of Dakota Territory. It is named for the Yankton tribe of Nakota (Sioux) Native Americans. Yankton is located on the Missouri River just downstream of the Gavins Point Dam and Lewis and Clark Lake and just upstream of the confluence with the James River. A famous landmark is the Human Services Center it was established as a psychiatric hospital in 1882. It is on The National Register of Historic Places. Yankton is commonly referred to as the 'River City', due to its close proximity to the Missouri River, and the importance that it played in the city's settling and subsequent development.