Glossary

Services necessary for the physical delivery of service, including generation, transmission and distribution. The monthly customer charge and the temporary transition charge are also basic service charges.

Part of the monthly basic distribution charge to partially cover costs for billing, meter reading, equipment, service line maintenance and equipment. This charge is the same no matter how much electricity you use.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s official Dictionary of terms used in the competitive electricity market. Some of these terms are included in this Glossary. Please click here to review all of the terminology.

A contract between an Electric Generation Supplier and a customer that outlines the terms and conditions of service (i.e., length of term, fees, etc.) and other important information. Electric Generation Suppliers must provide this disclosure statement to all customers at time of enrollment. To assure receipt of this, Stream Energy sends this to the customer at the completion of the Quality Confirmation Call.

Removal or relaxation of regulations or controls governing a business or service operation such as utilities.

The local wires, transformers, substations and other equipment used to deliver electricity to end-use consumers from the high-voltage transmission lines.

Part of the basic service charges on every customer’s bill for delivering electricity from the electric distribution company to your home or business. The distribution charge is regulated by the Public Utility Commission. This charge will vary according to how much electricity you use.

The fee Stream charges when a customer on a Fixed Plan terminates service prior to the end of their contract. This ECF is stated in the Customer Disclosure Statement. When Stream offers a Fixed Plan, a “strip” of electricity is purchased at a wholesale rate to support the retail price charged to the Customer. When a customer terminates their Fixed Plan Agreement with Stream early, Stream is still liable to purchase their electricity at that rate, and, therefore, charges an ECF to offset this liability.

The Pennsylvania Electric Choice Program is the PUC approved program which supports customer choice of Electric Generation Supplier (EGS) in both the residential and commercial/industrial sectors. Presently Stream will only be allowing IAs to market in the Residential portion of the EC Program.

The company that owns the power lines and equipment necessary to deliver purchased electricity to the customer. Unlike the markets, in Pennsylvania the Utility is our Partner since they will usually do our collections and contact. In Pennsylvania, we will be initially be marketing in the PPL and then the PECO. We hope to open up other as the market matures. The Utilities in PA are:

• Pennsylvania Power & Light (PPL)
• Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO) (main city: Philadelphia)
• Allegheny Power (West Penn Power)
• Duquesne Light Company (main city: Pittsburgh)
• Metropolitan Edison Company – MetEd (First Energy)
• Penn Power (First Energy)
• Pike County Light and Power (Orange & Rockland)
• UGI
• Wellsboro Electric Company

The licensed competing retail electric provider (ex: Stream Energy) in the Electric Choice Program.

A price which remains the same, usually for a set time period. (In Stream Energy’s Fixed Plan Contract the price is a fixed price for a set period of time.)

The production of electricity. In Pennsylvania, electricity is produced by a number of methods including natural gas, coal, nuclear power, wind, water and solar energy. The generation of electricity is deregulated.

Part of the basic service charges on every customer’s bill for producing electricity. Generation service is competitively priced and is not regulated by the Public Utility Commission. This charge depends on the contract between the customer and the supplier.

A network for the transmission of electricity throughout the state, region or nation. The term is also used to refer the layout of an electric distribution system. (See PJM)

Charges to utility customers to pay for special bonds that are used to refinance utility debt, thereby lowering overall costs for the utility and its customers.

The basic unit of electric energy for which most customers are charged in cents per kilowatt-hour. A unit of energy equal to one kilowatt (kW) of power expended for one hour of time. The amount of electricity used each billing period is expressed in terms of a kilowatt-hour and is noted on your bill.

Pennsylvania Law defines four types of incorporated municipalities within the County: cities, boroughs, townships, and a single official “town” (Bloomsburg):

• City: 56 population centers officially termed “cities” ranging from 748 – 1.5 million population
• Borough: approximately 950 population centers historically referred to as “boroughs” ranging from < = 200 up to ~ 35,000 with the defining characteristic of not having a municipal structure
• Town: there is only one “official” town in PA: Bloomsburg
• Township: Townships are subsections of counties and can contain boroughs and cities but have their own governance and are counted separately by the census. [There are a good number of duplicate names so you have to be sure if somebody's talking about the city, borough or township (or unincorporated village).] There are over 1500 townships that are divided into first class and second class townships according to population density.
• Links to Population Center details:
  • Townships
  • Counties
  • Regions

Kilowatt-hour amount a consumer uses to compare prices and potential savings among generation suppliers. The Utility’s PTC will be updated Quarterly starting in 2011. The PTC may be referenced at: http://www.papowerswitch.com/

The company providing generation services to those who do not choose another supplier, are unable to find a supplier willing to serve them or for some reason no longer receive generation services from another supplier.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is the state regulatory agency that provides oversight, policy guidance and direction to electric public utilities. The PUC regulates the delivery of electricity and enforces customer protections.

Pennsylvania – New Jersey – Maryland (PJM) Interconnection Independent Service Operator (ISO) – Pennsylvania is part of the PJM electric “Grid”. PJM is interconnected to other ISOs and is bordered on sides by NY ISO [to the North], Midwest ISO [to the West], and SE Reliability Council (SERC) [to the South].

A required call that all customers must complete to request service with Stream Energy. It is critical that IAs inform their customers that the Quality Confirmation Call must be made as soon as possible to complete enrollment. This QC Call must be made only by the customer. If the customer has not called the QC number within 24 hours, a series of calls and emails from Stream Energy will automatically ensue over the next few days to make certain the customer completes their enrollment. The customer’s completed request for service will be submitted to the Utility 24 hours after the QC Call is completed.

In the Pennsylvania market, the customer customer will not have a credit check. For the customer’s protection against slamming she will be requested to provide her last four digits of her Social Security number, along with other identifying information.

Resources used to generate electricity that are capable of being replaced naturally. This includes fuels and technologies such as solar photovoltaic energy, solar thermal energy, wind power, low head hydro power, geothermal energy, landfill and mine based methane gas, energy from waste and sustainable biomass energy.

Switching electric service without a customer’s approval. This practice is illegal and penalties are enforced by the PUC. Ignite has a zero tolerance policy towards slamming and is a terminable offense (see your Policies and Procedures Manual in your Power Center).

Part of the basic service charges on every customer’s bill for transporting electricity from the source of supply to the electric distribution company. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulates retail transmission prices and services. This charge will vary with your source of supply.

A price which can change by the hour, day, month etc. Stream’s Variable Plan(s) usually readjusts on a monthly basis in response to the energy market.

Modifying a home or building to conserve energy. Methods include: sealing window and doorframes with caulking or gaskets, installing storm doors and windows, and adding or increasing the insulation.