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.
Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 2,032 at the 2000 census. The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York. Most of the village lies inside the Town of Otsego, but part is inside the Town of Middlefield. Cooperstown is best known as the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The Farmers' Museum, The Fenimore Art Museum, Glimmerglass Opera, and the New York State Historical Association are also based there. More recently, nearly 1,000 youth baseball teams descend on Cooperstown every summer to participate in some of the largest baseball tournaments in the country.