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.
The Village of Farmingdale is located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York in the United States. The population was 8,399 at the 2000 census. As of 2008 the mayor is George Starkie. "Farmingdale" is also associated with several unincorporated areas outside the village limits, including South Farmingdale (also in the Town of Oyster Bay within Nassau County), and East Farmingdale. Many nearby places not within the village limits have "Farmingdale" as their postal address. Farmingdale Union Free School District (UFSD 22) includes parts of both Nassau County and Suffolk County.