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.
Arroyo Seco is an unincorporated community in Taos County near Taos, New Mexico, United States. Arroyo Seco's economy is based on tourism and services to residents of retirement and vacation homes. Arroyo Seco has a post office, with the ZIP code 87514. The 87514 ZIP Code Tabulation Area had a population of 1,310 at the 2000 census, with 996 housing units, a land area of 53.63 sq. miles, a water area of 0.05 sq. miles, and a population density of 24.43 people per sq. mile at Census 2000. Arroyo Secos's elevation is 7,634 feet.