Electricity Glossary - Corpus Christi Electric

• Advanced Metering Charge

  A charge assessed to recover a TDU's charges for Advanced Metering Systems, to the extent that they are not recovered in a TDU's standard metering charge.

   

• Billing period

  The dates for which you were billed. Billing periods are also known as billing cycles.

   

• Customer choice

  The right of customers to purchase energy from a supplier other than their traditional supplier or from more than one seller in the retail market.

   

• Demand

  The amount of electricity used at any given instant or averaged over a designated period of time. Demand is usually measured in kilowatts or Megawatts. The Peak Demand is the highest 15 minute recorded demand period over 12-months.

   

• Demand Charge

  The portion of a rate that is based on the maximum demand recorded over a specified period of time.

   

• Deregulation

  The elimination of some or all regulations from a previously regulated industry or sector of an industry.

   

• Energy charge

  That portion of the charge for electric service based upon the electric energy (kWh) consumed or billed.

   

• Index

  A calculated number designed to represent the average price of electricity bought and sold at a specific location during a specified period of time.

   

• Index -price Contract

  The cost of energy that is determined by and fluctuates with current market conditions.

   

• Kilowatt (kW)

  A standard unit that measures electrical energy (1,000 watts = 1 kW).

   

• Kilowatt-hour (kWh)

  A measure of electricity defined as a unit of work or energy, measured as 1 kilowatt (1,000watts) of power expended for 1 hour

   

• Megawatt (mW)

  A unit of energy equivalent to 1000 kW or 1,000,000 watts.

   

• Meter

  A device that measures the amount of electrical energy consumed by a residence, commercial or an electrically powered device. TDSPs (Utility companies) read meters to determine how much electricity each client used. Types of electricity meters include digital meters and smart meters.

   

• Meter Charge

  Flat fee applied each month. The fee may vary based on plan enrolled, usage, or size of customer.

   

• Peak demand

  The maximum load during a specified period of time.

   

• Public Utility

  A regulated entity that supplies the public with an essential service such as electricity, natural gas, water or telephone.

   

• Rate

  A regulated price charged by a regulated entity such as a utility.

   

• Rate Base

  The net investment in facilities, equipment and other property a utility has constructed or purchased to provide utility services to its customers.

   

• Smart Meter

  An innovative electric meter that records consumption in intervals of an hour or less and communicates that information back to the utility for monitoring and billing purposes. Unlike traditional electric meters that only measure total consumption, smart meters show when the energy was consumed.

   

• Usage

  Usage is the amount of electricity used during the billing period. Usage is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh) and will be listed on your electric bill as "kWh Usage".

   

• Utility

  An entity that creates, transmits and/or distributes electricity from facilities that it owns and operates.

   

• Utility Charges

  The total amounts assessed by a TDSP for the delivery of electricity to a customer.