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.
Platteville is the largest city in Grant County in southwestern Wisconsin. The population was 9,989 at the 2000 census. According to a 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the population has grown to 10,297. The city is home to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.