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.
Long Beach is a city in Nassau County, New York. One of Long Island's two cities, it is located on a namesake island, which forms part of the Outer Barrier off Long Island's South Shore. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 35,462. It was incorporated in 1922, and is nicknamed The City By the Sea (as seen in Latin on its official seal). The City of Long Beach is surrounded by the Town of Hempstead to the north, east and west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south.. Charles T. Theofan is the current city manager, a position which is appointed by the City Council.