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.
Clifton Park is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, the 2006 population estimate for Clifton Park was 36,447. The name is derived from an early land patent. The town is in the south part of the county and is located approx. 12 miles (19 km) north of Albany and northeast of Schenectady, and 10 miles (16 km) south of Saratoga Springs.