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.
The Town of Westport is on the eastern border of the county and is 35 miles south of Plattsburgh and 93 miles south of Montreal. Westport is inside the Adirondack Park. Westport is the birthplace of the Adirondack chair. The Essex County Fair is held in the town. The fairgrounds was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.