Electric Glossary of Terms
| Disclaimer:
This document has been prepared as an informal guide
to understanding terms used in the regulation of
electric utilities. It is not intended as legal
advice. In the event of any conflict between this
informal guide and the Commission’s enabling
statutes or formal rules, the requirements of the
statute and/or rule in question shall in every instance
govern. The Commission rules are also available
on the website and can be referred to for a greater
understanding of the terms and the context in which
they are employed. This glossary includes links
to the relevant statues and rules. |
Aggregator
means any person or entity that aggregates but takes
no ownership of the electricity needed to meet that
aggregated load. An example of an aggregator is a broker
who arranges for the purchase of electric service for
a purchasing group consisting of several customers.
The broker never owns the electricity but arranges for
its sale to the purchasing group. Puc
2002.02 (Competitive Electric Power Supplier Rules)
Cogeneration
facility means a facility which produces electric
energy and other forms of useful energy, such as steam
or heat, which are used for industrial, commercial,
heating, or cooling purposes. RSA
362-A:1-a I.
Competitive electric power
supplier (CEPS) means any person or entity
that sells or offers to sell electricity to retail customers
by using the transmission and/or distribution facilities
of any public utility in this state. A competitive electric
power supplier includes but is not limited to owners
of electric generating facilities, marketers of electricity,
and municipalities selling or offering to sell electricity.
Puc 2002.04
(Competitive Electric Power Supplier Rules)
Customer means
any person, business or governmental unit which purchases
retail electric service. Puc
2002.05 (Competitive Electric Power Supplier Rules)
Default Service
means electricity supply that is available to customers
who are otherwise without an electricity supplier and
are ineligible for transition service.
RSA
374-F:2 I-a
Distribution
System means the portion of the equipment used
to deliver electricity which exists between the distribution
utility and the customer. For example, a customer can
receive electric service from a competitive electric
power supplier and distribution service from a distribution
utility.
Electric service
means the delivery of electric power through the provision
of transmission and/or distribution service by an electric
utility to a retail customer, regardless of such retail
customer's source of electric power, and shall include
any back-up, maintenance, emergency, and other delivery
service provided to a retail customer by an electric
utility. RSA
369-B:2 XII
KiloWatt-hour (kWh)
means one thousand Watt-hours, where a Watt-hour (Wh)
is an electrical energy unit of measure equal to 1 Watt
of power supplied to, or taken from, an electric circuit
steadily for 1 hour.
Meter means a
device installed for the measurement of electrical quantities
to be used as a basis for determining charges for electric
service.
Puc 302.08
(Rules for Electric Service )
Net energy
metering means measuring the difference between
the electricity supplied over the electric distribution
system and the electricity generated by an eligible
customer generator which is fed back into the electric
distribution system over a billing period. RSA
362-A:1-a III-a
Rates means any
charge or price for electric services and all related
services regulated by the commission, including, availability,
terms of payment, and minimum service period. Puc
1601.03 (Tariff and Special Contracts Rules)
Stranded Costs
means costs, liabilities, and investments, such as uneconomic
assets, that electric utilities would reasonably expect
to recover if the existing regulatory structure continued
and that electric utilities would not reasonably expect
to recover in a restructured, competitive market, absent
a specific cost recovery mechanism. RSA
374-F:2 IV
Tariff means
the schedule of rates, charges and terms and conditions
under which a regulated and tariffed service is provided
to customers, filed by a utility and either approved
by the commission or effective by operation of law.
Puc 1601.05
(Tariff and Special Contracts Rules)
Transition
Service means electricity supply that is available
to customers who have not chosen a competitive electric
power supplier and to others, as deemed appropriate
by the commission. RSA
374-F:2 V
Transmission
System (Electric) means an interconnected group
of electric transmission lines and associated equipment
for moving or transferring electric energy in bulk between
points of supply and points at which it is transformed
for delivery over the distribution system lines to consumers,
or is delivered to other electric systems.
For electric industry definitions, visit the following
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