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.
Cookeville is a city in Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 23,923 at the 2000 census. The 2007 Census estimate of Cookeville's population is 28,901, and the combined total of those living in Cookeville's ZIP codes in 2000 is 55,448. It is the county seat of Putnam County and home to Tennessee Technological University. It is recognized as one of the country's micropolitan areas, smaller towns which nevertheless function as significant economic hubs. Of the twenty micropolitan areas in Tennessee, Cookeville is the largest with a 2007 population of 101,682.