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.
Speculator is a village in Hamilton County, New York, United States. The population was 348 at the 2000 census. The village is named after a nearby Speculator Mountain. The postal ZIP code is 12164. The Village of Speculator is the only incorporated village within Hamilton County and is within the Town of Lake Pleasant. The village lies on the north end of a lake, also called Lake Pleasant. The local inhabitants sometimes refer to the village as the "Four Corners," referring to the intersection of NYS Route 8 and NYS Route 30 in the middle of the business district. Speculator is within the Adirondack Park.