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.
Millbrook is a village in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 1,429 at the 2000 census. It is considered one of the wealthiest towns in the State of New York and is often thought of as a rural and more low-key version of The Hamptons. The main street, Franklin Avenue, is home to many of the village's main eateries, stores, and landmarks, including the public library. The Village of Millbrook is near the center of the Town of Washington. Until April 2008, US Route 44 passed through the village, but it was rerouted through what was route 44A. The road through the town is now unsigned reference route 984P. Millbrook is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area.