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.
Star Lake is a hamlet in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 860 at the 2000 census. Star Lake is in the Town of Clifton, but part of the community is in the Town of Fine. The community is located east of a very angular-shaped lake, also called Star Lake.