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.
Chippewa Falls is a city located on the Chippewa River in Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 13,319 at the 2009 census. Incorporated as a city in 1869, it is the county seat of Chippewa County. The city's name originated because of its location on the Chippewa River, which is named after the Ojibwa Native Americans. Early settlers misheard the word "Ojibwa" as "Chippewa". Chippewa Falls is the birthplace of Seymour Cray, and the headquarters for the original Cray Research. It is also the home of the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, the Heyde Center for the Arts, a showcase venue for artists and performers, Irvine Park, and the annual Northern Wisconsin State Fair.