Glossary of Electric Choice Terms

A person, local government or organization that brings a group together to buy electricity.

The elimination of regulation from a previously regulated industry or sector of an industry.

The delivery of electricity to the retail customer's home or business through distribution lines.

To reduce or manage energy consumption in a cost-effective manner.

Production of electricity in a power plant.

Independent System Operator is a neutral operator responsible for maintaining an instantaneous balance of the grid system. The ISO performs its function by controlling the dispatch of flexible plants to ensure that loads match resources available to the system.

An electricity meter that records a customer's electric usage for defined intervals (e.g., 5 minutes, 15 minutes, half-hour, etc.). This will allow the possibility for consumption during different time periods to be billed at different rates and provide a means for a customer's load pattern to be analyzed.

A measure of electric energy use that represents one thousand watts an hour. For example, a 100-watt light bulb burning for 10 hours equals 1 kWh.

Measurements of a customer’s electricity usage over a period of time that shows how much and when a customer uses electricity. Load profiles can be used by suppliers and transmission system operators to forecast electricity supply requirements and to determine the cost of serving a customer.

The date on which Duke Energy Ohio schedules a meter to be read for purposes of producing a customer bill. This is the effective date of any switch from Duke Energy Ohio to a supplier or from a supplier back to Duke Energy.

The price a supplier would have to beat in order for a customer to save money. The price to compare will be shown on electric bills and can be used to compare offers from suppliers.

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The reconfiguration of the vertically consolidated electric utility. Restructuring usually refers to separation of the various utility functions into individually operated and owned entities.

A rate offered by Duke Energy Ohio to customers in its service area for all competitive retail electric services. This is the rate needed for comparing the generation charge of Duke Energy Ohio to that of an alternative generation supplier.

A person, corporation, generator, broker, marketer, aggregator or any other entity that sells electricity to customers, using the transmission or distribution facilities of an electric distribution company. Generation suppliers in Ohio will be consider "certified" in that they must be licensed by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to sell electricity to customers and enrolled in Duke Energy Ohio's Customer Choice program.

Interconnecting electric lines that move high-voltage electricity from where it is produced to the point of distribution to customers.

Breaking down services offered into parts so each part can be billed separately.