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.
El Prado is an unincorporated suburb of Taos, in Taos County, New Mexico, United States. El Prado is located at latitude 36.449 and longitude 105.576. It is bounded on the east by the town of Taos, and to the north by Taos Pueblo lands. The elevation is 7,123 feet. El Prado has a post office, with the ZIP code 87529. The 87529 ZIP Code Tabulation Area had a population of 2,727 at the 2000 census.. El Prado ZCTA had 1,622 housing units; a land area of 18.89 sq. miles; a water area of 0 sq. miles; and a population density of 144.40 people per sq. mile at Census 2000.