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.
Plainview is a hamlet located in the Town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County, New York, USA. The population was 27,677 as of 2007. The Plainview Post Office has the ZIP Code 11803. Plainview and its neighboring hamlet, Old Bethpage, share a school system, library, fire department, and water district. Law enforcement for the communities is provided by the Nassau County Police Department, with the Second Precinct serving areas north of Old Country Road and Eighth Precinct serving areas south of Old Country Road. Plainview is split between the 2nd congressional district of New York and the 3rd congressional district of New York.