A [ Back to Glossary Index ] access number Any set of numbers, dialed before the area code, that are required to access a particular rate plan when calling long-distance. activation fee A one-time fee for starting a new telephone service plan. Long-distance activation fees can range from $0 to more than $20, depending on the service plan and the carrier. affiliate A company which has the same owner as another company. aggregator A firm which has a large group of consumers to bargain on its behalf for the lowest possible price for utilities such as electricity, gas and water. The firm "aggregates" or combines many smaller customers into one large customer for purposes of negotiation. It purchases the utility commodity for the group. Currently, there are no electric aggregators in Ohio which purchase electricity for retail customers. B [ Back to Glossary Index ] base load The minimum energy levels a company must provide to its customers on a constant basis. basic service A package of services defined by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), which consists of essential telephone services. Basic service is the absolute minimum that local service providers can offer their customers. billing increment A portion of time, usually one minute, used to measure and determine the cost of a telephone call. With a one-minute billing unit, the duration of calls is rounded up to the next full minute. bulk power market Wholesale purchases and sales of electricity. C [ Back to Glossary Index ] call forwarding An additional service that allows calls placed to one telephone number to be transferred to another number. call waiting An enhanced service that notifies a telephone user who is already engaged in a call that another caller is trying to contact him/her. caller ID An enhanced telephone service that allows the recipient of a call to see the telephone number of the person placing the incoming call. carrier Technically, this is a long-distance telephone company that uses its own network lines and transmission facilities for most of its customers' calls. However, many people refer to all long-distance companies as carriers whether or not they use their own lines. Ccf A unit of measuring natural gas and water. It is short for hundred cubic feet. The average residential household uses 100 Ccf of gas per month. However, actual usage varies greatly with the weather. cherry-picking The practice of pursing desirable customers and ignoring less desirable customers. The term is commonly used to describe a company's tactic of trying to get the business of the largest energy or service users. city gate A local delivery point for natural gas, generally the point at which the local distribution company takes over movement of the gas from an interstate pipeline. competition A market structure in which two or more companies compete for customers' business. Commission see PUCO. conservation Reducing a customer's use of water, gas, and electricity to decrease the need to produce and/or transport these commodities. Conservation reduces utilities costs for the consumer and reduces environmental pollution. cooperative (co-op) A type of utility in which the customers are also the owners. Co-ops are common in rural areas that are expensive to serve because of the long distances between users. Frequently, government contributes in various ways to rural cooperatives to reduce costs to individual owners and users. The Ohio Consumer's Counsel (OCC) does not have jurisdiction in matters dealing with cooperative utilities. cramming The act of a telephone company billing a customer for additional services that the customer did not order. Consumers are often unaware of such service charges and have not consented to them. customer choice The ability of consumers to choose their suppliers of natural gas or electricity. D [ Back to Glossary Index ] daily peak The maximum amount of energy or service demanded in one day from a company or utility service. demand A measure of customer or system load requirements over a measured period of time. deregulation The process of removing restrictive regulations on previously regulated companies. distribution The equipment (wires, pipelines, substations, etc.) used to distribute and deliver utility commodities such as electricity and gas to end-use consumers; in the case of electricity, the distribution is from the high-voltage transmission lines. The act of distributing a utility commodity for consumption (retail) rather than for resale (wholesale) is the real mark of distribution. distribution charges or delivery service charges Part of the basic service charges on every customer's electric or gas bill for delivering electricity or natural gas from the distribution company to a customer's home or business. This distribution charge is regulated by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). This charge will vary according to how much electricity is used. E [ Back to Glossary Index ] efficacy This refers to the number of lumens produced for each watt of electricity consumed by a light bulb. See watt, kilowatt, lumen. electric distribution company (EDC) The company that owns the power lines and equipment necessary to deliver purchased electricity to the customer. Energy, Department of (DOE) An agency created by the federal government in 1977. It provides information to achieve efficiency in energy use, diversity in energy sources, a more productive and competitive economy, improved environmental quality and a secure national defense. enhanced services Any service offering that is not essential to the delivery of basic service. For local telephone service, enhanced services include voice mail, call forwarding, call waiting and Caller ID. F [ Back to Glossary Index ] Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) An independent regulatory agency within the U.S. Department of Energy that has jurisdiction over interstate electricity sales, wholesale electricity rates, gas/oil pipeline rates, and gas pipeline certification. It also licenses and inspects private, municipal and state hydroelectric projects and oversees related environmental matters. fixed price A price that remains the same, usually for a set time period. flat rate An option in which an unlimited number of local calls can be made for a "flat" monthly rate. This differs from the long-distance flat rate in that regardless of the number of local calls placed, the monthly flat rate service fee will remain the same. Some long-distance carriers flat rate offers such as "anytime, anywhere two cents per minute." formal complaint A written dispute of disagreement about a utility problem filed by a consumer with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). A formal complaint is assigned to an administrative law judge who holds a hearing to develop a record. After the hearing, the judge issues a decision. G [ Back to Glossary Index ] gas cost recovery (GCR) This makes up the largest portion of a gas bill. To deliver gas to a customer, the utility purchases gas from a producer and has it shipped through a pipeline. The GCR rate, which recovers both the cost of the gas and the use of the space in the interstate pipeline, is the charge for the gas on a unit price per Ccf. This rate changes every quarter, and the changes will affect customers' bills. generation The conversion of other forms of energy into electricity through the use of equipment. Generation is measured in kilowatt-hours. generation charges Part of the basic service charges on every customer's bill for producing electricity. When there is competition between electric companies, this charge depends on the terms of service between the customers and the supplier. grid A network for the transmission of electricity throughout the state or nation. I [ Back to Glossary Index ] independent power producer (IPP) An electricity generator that sells power to others but is not owned by the local utility. independent systems operator (ISO) An impartial, independent third party responsible for maintaining the secure and economical operation of an open access transmission electric system on a regional basis. interruptible rate A special utility rate discount given to those who agree to have their service reduced or temporarily stopped as part of an agreement with the utility company. Circumstances for service interruptions can be periods of high demand or high cost periods of short supply for the utility and/or system emergencies. Large companies or industrial customers often have this type of contract with utility companies. K [ Back to Glossary Index ] kilowatt (kW) This is equal to 1,000 watts; it is used as a measure of demand for electricity during a preset time (minutes, hours, days, or months). Ten 100-watt light bulbs use one kW of electric power. kilowatt-hour (kWh) The basic unit of electric energy for which most customers are charged. The amount of electricity used by ten 100-watt light bulbs left on for one hour. Consumers are charged for electricity in cents per kilowatt-hour. L [ Back to Glossary Index ] load The amount of electricity being used at one time by a customer, circuit or system. load management Shifting of electricity use from periods of high demand to periods of low demand. local calling area The area defined by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) where a telephone call placed from within the local calling area to a number within the same local calling area is covered by the local flat rate. local distribution company (LDC) A utility that takes natural gas from a local delivery point (generally called the city gate) and distributes it to local customers. In the past, LDCs almost always owned the gas and passed the supply cost through, under government supervision, to local gas users. Today, many LDCs transport the gas to large users without having ownership of the gas. Deregulation is making transportation available to smaller customers, including residential consumers. lumen This is a measure of the amout of visible light produced by a light bulb. M [ Back to Glossary Index ] marketer An intermediary in the purchase and sale of natural gas. This term is used interchangeably with "supplier." measured rate In this form of telephone billing, charges reflect the duration, time of day, and distance of each call. See metered rate, message rate. message rate A telephone billing method in which a customer is charged a specific amount for a maximum number of calls each month. If the customer makes more than the allotted number of calls, he or she is charged separately for each additional call. metered rate Any variable telephone rate that is applied on a per call basis. The variable rates are typically set at day (highest rate); evening (moderate rate) and night/weekend (lowest rate). The time and rates will vary with each carrier. municipal utility A utility owned by the city. The Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC) does not have jurisdiction in matters dealing with municipal utilities. N [ Back to Glossary Index ] natural gas A hydrocarbon gas that is usually obtained from underground sources, often in association with petroleum and coal deposits. It generally contains a high percentage of methane and inert gases. Some natural gas is manufactured. nuclear power Electricity generated in facilities (fission reactors) that split atoms of radioactive materials such as uranium. These reactors produce radioactive waste but not air pollution. number portability The ability to change local service providers and still keep the same telephone number. O [ Back to Glossary Index ] off-peak/on-peak Blocks of time when energy demand and price is low (off-peak) or high (on-peak). Ohio Consumers Counsel (OCC) The Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC) was established by the State Legislature in 1976 to represent the interests of Ohio's four million residential utility customers in proceedings before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), other regulatory agencies and in the courts. This state agency was created to deal with matters involving gas, electric, telephone and water utilities. OCC also educates consumers about utility issues, and resolves complaints individuals have with their utility companies. The office operates under the direction of a nine-member Governing Board which is responsible for selection of the Consumers' Counsel. The Consumers' Counsel, Robert S. Tongren, heads the agency and is responsible for OCC's day-to-day operations. P [ Back to Glossary Index ] PIC (primary interexchange carrier) or presubscribed carrier The long-distance company selected by the user over which all regular long-distance calls are routed. When service is started with a customer's local telephone company, he/she is asked to choose a long-distance carrier; this is the presubscribed carrier. PIC freeze This is a way to prevent slamming; it it prevents changes in long-distance service without the customer's consent. pilot A utility program offering an experimental service to a limited group of customers. price cap A situation where a price for a commodity has been determined and fixed. While under regulation, this price will not change even under high market demand. PUCO The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. This is the regulatory agency that serves as the "judge" in utility proceedings. R [ Back to Glossary Index ] regulation A rule or law established by the federal or state government which sets procedures a utility must fulfill. reliability Providing adequate and dependable generation, transmission and distribution service. restructuring The process of changing the structure of a utility industry from one of guaranteed monopoly to one of open competition among suppliers for customers. retail customer A customer who buys energy and uses it. Residential customers are also considered retail customers. retail competition The activity through which companies compete to sell energy to the end user. retail wheeling The process of transmitting electricity over transmission lines not owned by the supplier of the electricity to a retail customer of the supplier. With retail wheeling, electricity consumers can secure their own supply of electricity indirectly, from a marketer or directly from the generating source. The power is then wheeled at a fixed rate or regulated "non-discriminatory" rate set by a utility commission. S [ Back to Glossary Index ] slamming The act of changing a consumer's long-distance telephone carrier without his/her knowledge or permission. This is typically achieved through some type of deceptive advertising. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has fined carriers with a proven history of slamming practices. Subscriber Line Charge (SLC) An amount (determined by the FCC) that each wireline user must pay for the use of that telephone service. The mount of the SLC depends on the number of lines into a house and whether those lines are used for business or residential purposes. spot market Short-term purchases of electricity or natural gas at current market prices. stranded investments or stranded costs A utility investment, such as for improving facilities and equipment, that is not supported by market prices. T [ Back to Glossary Index ] ten- plus dialing or 10-10-XXX dialing Each long distance company has a specific seven-digit number (10-10 followed by a three-digit access code) that is used to access their network for telephone calls. Customers don't normally need to dial in this number unless they want to use a long-distance company other than the one they have designated as their primary interexchange carrier (PIC). Calls made in this manner, which will usually appear on a customer's local phone company bill, are often billed at the long distance company's highest rate. toll call A generic term used to describe any telephone call other than a local call. A long-distance call, or call placed to a number outside the local calling area, is billed on a per-call basis at the applicable long-distance rate. transmission Interconnecting electric lines which move high voltage electricity from its production site to the point of distribution to customers. transmission charges Part of the basic service charges on every customer's bill for transporting a utility commodity (usually electricity or gas) from the source of supply to the distribution company. U [ Back to Glossary Index ] universal service A policy goal of some states and the federal government that basic utility service be affordable and available to everyone. Universal basic telephone service is a formal policy goal of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. unbundling Breaking down offered service into parts so each part can be offered and priced separately. utility A regulated monopoly delivering energy, natural gas or other fundamental products or services (such as water and telephone service) to people within a given region. V [ Back to Glossary Index ] variable price A price that can change (by the hour, day, month, etc.) voice mail An enhanced service that is essentially an answering machine at the telephone company. W [ Back to Glossary Index ] watt This is a measure of the amount of electricity needed to power a device such as a light bulb. See kilowatt. wellhead The site at which natural gas and oil come out of the ground. It is commonly used as a pricing point by producers. wholesale This is the sale of a utility commodity in quantity for resale purposes.