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.
Stockton is a town in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 2,331 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Richard Stockton, who signed the Declaration of Independence. The Town of Stockton is an interior town of the county, north of Jamestown, New York .