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.
Medina is a village in Orleans County, New York, United States. The population was 6,415 at the 2000 census. The village was named by its surveyor. It is part of the Rochester Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Village of Medina straddles the two Towns of Shelby and Ridgeway and its residents are also residents of one of the two towns. The Erie Canal passes through the village. A branch campus of Genesee Community College is located in Medina.