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.
Brant is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 U.S. census, the town had a population of 1,906. The town was named after the Mohawk leader Joseph Brant. The Town of Brant is located in the southeastern part of the county and is known as one of the "Southtowns. " It is south of Buffalo.