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.
Somers is a town located in northeastern Westchester County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 18,346. The Metro-North Commuter Railroad provides service to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan with an average commute time of slightly over an hour to Manhattan (while the railroad doesn't pass through the town, the stations for Purdys, Goldens Bridge, and Katonah are located just outside the town).