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ELECTRICITY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
A collection of important words or phrases you may encounter when reading your electricity bill or exploring your Discount Power account information.
ELECTRICITY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
A collection of important words or phrases you may encounter when reading your electricity bill or exploring your Discount Power account information.
A charge assessed to recover a TDSP's charges for Advanced Metering Systems, to the extent that they are not recovered in a TDSP's standard metering charge. Acceptable abbreviation: Advanced Meter.
A charge assessed during each billing cycle without regard to the customer's demand or energy consumption.
A charge assessed to recover a TDSP's charges for non-securitized costs associated with the transition to competition. Acceptable abbreviation: Competition Transition.
A fee charged by your transmission and distribution service provider (TDSP, your area's poles/wires or utility company) to connect and start electric service at a particular address.
In deregulated retail electricity markets like Texas, customer choice means you can choose a retail electricity provider (REP) and an electricity plan to meet your specific needs. While just one company maintains the poles and wires that deliver your electricity, many companies compete to sell you the electricity that runs over the poles and wires. As a result, you get to choose the type of plan and REP you prefer.
A charge based on the rate at which electric energy is delivered to or by a system at a given instant, or averaged over a designed period, during the billing cycle.
The move from a regulated electricity system, where customers may not have a choice about which electricity company they use, to a competitive electricity market. Electricity deregulation means you can choose a retail electricity provider (REP) and an electricity plan that meet your specific needs. One company (your TDSP) maintains the poles and wires that deliver your electricity, but many companies compete to sell the electricity that runs over the poles and wires.
A fee charged by your TDSP (e.g., your area's poles/wires or utility company) for disconnecting or reconnecting electric service.
A charge based on the electric energy (kWh) consumed.
A charge assessed to recover a TDSP's costs for energy efficiency programs, to the extent that the TDSP charge is a separate charge exclusively for that purpose that is approved by the Public Utility Commission. Acceptable abbreviation: Energy Efficiency.
Kilowatt, the standard unit for measuring electricity demand, equal to 1,000 watts.
Kilowatt-hour, the standard unit for measuring electricity energy consumption, equal to 1,000 watt-hours.
A charge assessed for late payment in accordance with Public Utility Commission rules.
A charge assessed to recover a TDSP's charges for metering a customer's consumption, to the extent that the TDSP charge is a separate charge exclusively for that purpose that is approved by the Public Utility Commission.
A fee assessed to recover the miscellaneous gross receipts tax imposed on retail electric providers operating in an incorporated city or town having a population of more than 1,000. You may see this abbreviated as ‘Gross Receipts Reimb.’
A charge assessed to recover a TDSP's charges for decommissioning of nuclear generating sites. Acceptable abbreviation: Nuclear Decommission.
Public Utility Commission of Texas.
A fee assessed to recover the statutory fee for administering the Public Utility Regulatory Act.
Sales tax collected by authorized taxing authorities, such as the state, cities and special purpose districts.
A type of electricity meter that has continuously available, remote, two-way communication and information storage capability. Smart meters record and store your electrical usage in 15-minute intervals and communicate that usage information back to your local wires company. Unlike traditional electric meters that only measure total consumption, smart meters show when the energy was consumed.
A non-bypassable charge approved by the Public Utility Commission, not to exceed 65 cents per megawatt-hour, that funds the low-income discount, one-time bill payment assistance, customer education, commission administrative expenses, and low-income energy efficiency programs.
The transmission distribution service provider, which oversees maintaining electrical poles and wires.
The cost of delivering electricity to your home, charged by your transmission and distribution service provider (TDSP). All delivery charges are approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and apply to all customers within a TDSP's service area, regardless of electricity provider.
One or more TDSP surcharge(s) on a customer's bill in any combination. Surcharges include charges billed as tariff riders by the TDSP. Acceptable abbreviation: TDSP Surcharges.
A charge assessed to recover a TDSP's charges for securitized costs associated with the transition to competition.
