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.
Questa is a village in Taos County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,864 at the 2000 census. Located on the Enchanted Circle scenic highway, near the confluence of the Rio Grande and the Red River, Questa is the least tourist-oriented town on the route. With a large Hispanic population, the village economy is largely dependent on agriculture and income from the nearby Chevron Questa molybdenum mine. Many residents also commute to Taos, Red River, and Angel Fire to work in the hospitality industries there.