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.
Amsterdam is a city located in Montgomery County, New York, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 18,355. The name is derived from the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam is surrounded on the north, east, and west sides by the town of Amsterdam and is on the banks of the Mohawk River. The majority of the city lies on the north bank, but the Port Jackson area on the south side is also part of the city.