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.
Germantown is a village in Washington County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 18,260 at the 2000 census. The village surrounds the Town of Germantown. In July 2007 Germantown was ranked the 30th most appealing place to live in the United States by Money Magazine.