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.
Stratford is a town in Fulton County, New York, United States. The population was 640 at the 2000 census. The town was named after a community in Connecticut. The Town of Stratford is in the northwest part of the county and is northeast of the Village of Dolgeville.