Commercial Terms & Definitions
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| BTU | British Thermal Unit. The amount of heat needed to raise one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. |
| Burner Tip | The point at which natural gas is used, such as a furnace, water heater or range. |
| CCF | 100 cubic feet of gas |
| CG (City Gate) | The city gate is a point of measuring energy usage at the point of it being delivered to the utility. As pricing is often given based on usage at the point of the meter, a conversion is needed to get the equivalent price or usage at the point of the City Gate. |
| Commodity | The commodity portion of a natural gas bill is the natural gas product itself. |
| Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) | Natural gas after being compressed for storage in pressure vessels at 2,400 -3000 pounds-per-square-inch. Natural gas stored in this manner can be used to fuel vehicles. |
| Consolidated Bill | Billing provided by the utility that contains both the utility’s charges for its services and the energy supplier’s charges for the electricity or natural gas. |
| Cubic Feet | The amount of gas required to fill a volume of one cubic foot (under stated conditions of temperature, pressure and water vapor) |
| Customer Charge | Charges to cover the costs of electrical wires, transformers, substations, and other equipment used to deliver electricity or natural gas to customers. |
| Customer Choice | Customer Choice allows customers to purchase electricity and natural gas directly from energy suppliers. The electricity or natural gas is then transported through the utility’s infrastructure (wires or pipelines) to the customer. This allows customers to shop around for their energy needs. |
| Delivery Point | The delivery point is where natural gas will be delivered. Customers meter is considered the delivery point. |
| Demand/Reservation charge | Fixed monthly charge applied to contracted volume based upon the capacity to use energy. |
| Deregulation | Another name for Customer Choice. |
| Distribution | For electric, this includes the electrical wires, transformers, substations, and other infrastructure used to deliver electricity to customers. For natural gas, this consists of the pipelines, gas mains, and other infrastructure used to deliver natural gas to the customer. |
| DTH | 10 therms |
| Dual Bill | When supplier and utility issue separate bills to the customer with their own charges. |
| Electric Distribution Company (EDC) | Regulated electric utility. |
| Energy Service Company (ESCo) | An energy supplier from which customers can purchase their natural gas or electricity in the deregulated Customer Choice market. UGI EnergyLink is an ESCo. |
| Gross Receipt Tax (GRT) | Pennsylvania imposes a tax for electric energy used. Some utilities include this Gross Receipt Tax (GRT) in the Price to Compare. GRT charges apply to generation supply of both electric utilities and energy supplier’s gross receipts. These charges are passed on to the consumer. Even though utilities may include the GRT in the Price to Compare, suppliers are not required to include the GRT in the price, so customers should verify if these charges are included when they compare prices. |
| Firm Service | Natural gas service offered to consumers specified in tariffs or contracts that anticipate no interruption. Most small commercial customers are on firm service. |
| KWH | Electricity usage equal to 1 kW of demand over a time period of 1 hour. |
| Line Loss | Utilities have factors to cover for the loss of gas from the city gate to the meter. This ensures that customer will receive the right amount of gas needed. |
| Local Distribution Company (LDC) | Regulated natural gas utility. |
| Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) | A federal/state program to assist low-income utility customers to pay for energy services. Normally this is for heating only. If you want more information please contact your local utility. |
| MCF | 1000 cubic feet of gas |
| Migration Rider | LDC does Change Migration rider which is equal to a GCA (gas Cost Adjustment) This rider is applicable with some utilities for 12 months. New pa. |
| MT (Meter) | The meter is a point of measuring energy usage at the point of it being delivered to the consumers home or business. Pricing is often given based on usage at the point of the meter. |
| MWH | 1000 KWH |
| Natural Gas Distribution Company (NDC or NGDS) | Regulated natural gas utility. |
| NYISO | NYISO regulates the wholesale of electricity through the power grid as a regional transmission organization (RTO). This covers the NY state area. |
| PJM | PJM regulates the wholesale of electricity through the power grid as a regional transmission organization (RTO). PJM- Stands for Pennsylvania, Jersey, Maryland. This does not cover NY area. |
| State Tax Adjustment Surcharge | A charge or credit that can reflect changes in various state taxes. |
| Therm | Unit of heat equivalent to 100,000 British Thermal Units (BTU’s) |
| Transition Charge For Electricty | This charge appears on every commercial customers’ bill to help recover an electric utility’s transition or stranded costs as determined by the Public Utility Commission (PUC). |
| Transmission | Moving electricity from a generation facility to the distribution lines of an electric utility or moving natural gas from the source of supply to the natural gas utility. |
| Watt | The basic unit of electricity demand, equivalent to one joule per second. |
| 1 KW | The most common unit of electricity demand, 1000 watts |
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