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.
Stevens Point is a city in and the county seat of Portage County, Wisconsin, United States. Located in the central part of the state, it is the largest city in the county, with a population of 24,551 at the 2000 census. Its estimated 2008 population was 25,327. The city was incorporated in 1858. The city forms the core of the United States Census Bureau's Stevens Point Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Portage County . Together with surrounding communities, the Stevens Point micropolitan area was, according to the 2000 census, home to 48,123 people, and was the 481st most populous area in the United States. Stevens Point is home to the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point and a campus of Mid-State Technical College.