Glossary

Aggregator
An entity registered with the DPUC that brings a group of consumers together to buy energy in bulk. The group of consumers is called a buying group.

Back-up Service (Default Service)
The electric generation service that a consumer will receive from their electric distribution company if their electric supplier stops providing energy. However, no service will be provided if a consumer has not paid their bill. This is intended to be a temporary service until the consumer chooses another supplier or transitional standard offer service.

Broker
An energy middle man that arranges the sale of power between parties. A broker does not own the power and is not licensed by the DPUC.

Capacity

The amount of electric power that can be delivered at one time by a generating unit, generating station or all the plants on an electric system.

Clean (also referred to as Green or Renewable)
Energy sources that cannot be depleted because they regenerate from natural processes like the movement of air, sunshine, or rainfall. For example, solar power, wind, fuel cells, etc.

Co-generation
The simultaneous production of electricity and useful heat from a common fuel source.

Competitive Transition Assessment (CTA)
The part of a consumer's electric bill that allows the electric distribution company to recover stranded costs.

Consumer Education Outreach Program (CEOP)
The comprehensive public education program developed by the DPUC to educate consumers about the implementation of retail competition among electric suppliers. The goal of the program is to reach all consumers to maximize public information, minimize consumer confusion and equip all consumers to participate effectively in a restructured electric generation market.

CTCleanEnergyOptions
An alternative to Transitional Standard Offer (TSO) that gives Connecticut's electric consumers a clean energy choice. This alternative program provides an environmentally friendly alternative to traditionally generated electricity. CTCleanEnergyOptions is a voluntary program that allows customers to support electricity produced from cleaner means such as wind, water and more, while still receiving their supply from either The Connecticut Light and Power Company or The United Illuminating Company. Customers pay a small monthly premium that supports the production of cleaner power from electric generators using renewable energy resources.

Delivery Charges
The charges on an electric customer's bill for the delivery or movement of electricity over the transmission and distribution system from the source of generation to the customer.

Demand Side Management (DSM)
The planning, implementation and evaluation of conservation and load manipulation to use electricity more efficiently.

Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC)
The agency of the State of Connecticut government that regulates private investor-owned public utilities of electricity, natural gas, water services as well as parts of telecommunications and cable television service. The DPUC will license electric suppliers, educate consumers about electric retail competition and provide ongoing information and assistance to consumers regarding the competitive electric market.

Distribution
The delivery of electricity over the poles and wires (owned by CL&P or UI) to customer's homes or businesses.

Divestiture
The separation of one utility function from others by selling or changing ownership of assets related to that function. Most commonly associated with spinning-off generation assets so they are no longer owned by the regulated utility that owns the transmission and distribution assets.

Electric Deregulation
See electric restructuring.

Electric Distribution Company
The company that delivers electricity to the retail consumer's home or business through the system of poles, wires, conduits or other fixtures along public highways or streets.

Electric Generation Company
A company that generates/produces electricity for sale in a competitive market.

Electric Generation
The production of electricity.

Electric Restructuring
The separation of the generation portion of the electric industry in order to open it to competitive electric suppliers.

Electric Supplier
An entity licensed by the DPUC to provide electric generation services to consumers. With electric choice, consumers can choose their electric supplier. The power is then delivered by the consumer's electric distribution company (either CL&P or UI) .

Electric Transmission
The delivery of electricity from a generation company to an electric distribution company over high-voltage towers and lines.

Federally-Mandated Congestion Costs
As of January 1, 2004, the federal law required that two line item charges be added to customer bills for congestion costs, energy-related and/or reliability-related costs. They are defined as charges to the consumer resulting from deficiencies in the electricity transportation system. Congestion costs occur when a more costly generator is dispatched before a less costly one because there isn't adequate transmission capacity to get the generation from the less costly plant to the load center that needs it.

Fuel Assistance Programs
Programs that provide financial assistance to low-income customers to help make their payments for primary heat in the winter months.

Grid
The network/system of interconnected transmission and distribution lines.

Independent System Operator (ISO)
An independent entity that operates the electric power grid to coordinate generation and transmission. For the New England states, it is ISO-NE.

Last Resort

Load Curve
Shows the quantity of energy used by a consumer at specific time intervals over a 24-hour period.

Load Management
Actions taken by a consumer to alter energy usage demand including shifting use to different time periods.

Load Profile
Shows the quantity of energy used by a class of consumers at specific time intervals over a 24-hour period.

NEPOOL - (The New England Power Pool)
A voluntary association of electric utilities in New England that established a single regional network to direct the operations of the major generating and transmission (bulk power system) facilities in the region. Its goals are safety, reliability and economy.

Power Pool
An arrangement by two or more entities to coordinate the operation of generation and/or transmission systems to reduce costs and improve reliability and/or efficiency.

Power Sources
The resources that are used to produce electricity.

Renewable Energy
See clean energy.

Securitization
A method of refinancing stranded cost debt through a trust created by legislation for the purpose of issuing bonds backed by anticipated revenue of a utility.

Slamming
This is a term used when an electric supplier switches a consumer's service without permission. Slamming is illegal.

Standard Service
The energy that is supplied to consumers who do not choose an electric supplier.

Stranded costs
The long-term debt and expenses that utilities have incurred through contracts with power producers, and other long-term investments, such as power plants, approved by state and federal agencies, that cannot be supported in a competitive electric market or that are above the market price for electricity.

Systems Benefits Charge (SBC)
The charge on each electric customer's bill that covers certain regulatory and energy public policy costs, such as public education and hardship protection.

Unbundling
The breaking down of electric utility service into its component parts (i.e., generation, transmission and distribution services) so that each part can be billed or sold separately.

Wheeling
The transmission of electricity by an entity that does not own or directly use the electricity that it is transmitting.