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.
Wassaic, New York is a hamlet in the Town of Amenia, New York in the Dutchess County, New York. Wassaic is located in southeast New York State and surrounded by the East and West Mountains and along the Tenmile River. The name of the hamlet means Washaic, or "land of difficult access," by the Indians. Wassaic's main employers in the 1800s were Gridley Iron Works and the Harlem division of the New York Central Railroad. In 1861 Gail Borden opened a factory for producing a milk that would not need refrigeration. Today, it is known as Borden's Eagle Brand Condensed Milk. Wassaic was also known for dairy sheep and grain farming. In the Revolutionary War, General George Washington marched through Wassaic on the way to Connecticut. wassaic holds a record in the guiness book of world records having the darkest day recorded Wassaic is the terminal and final station of the Harlem line of the Metro North Railroad. The station is located on State Route 22.