Glossary

Ampere (Amps): Amount of current or flow of electricity in the wire.

Customer Charge: Customer charge includes distribution related costs that pertainto services, meters, billing, accounting, and information.

Delivery Charge: Combination of Transmission and Distribution (T&D) charges.

Distribution Charge: Covers the costs associated with delivering the electricity to our retail customers and are regulated by the Maine Public Utilities Commission.

Electricity Supplier: A company that is licensed to generate and/or sell electricity.

Electricity Supply Charge: The portion of the billing that applies to the charges for electric energy and capacity from the Electricity Supplier of your choice.

Kilowatt (kW): The rate at which electric energy is delivered at a given instant. One kW = 1,000 watts.

Kilowatt-Hour (kWh): A unit of electrical energy equal to one kilowatt (kW) of power supplied to or taken from an electric circuit steadily for one hour.

Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC): The MPUC is an independent agency of the state of Maine created by the Maine Legislature “to assure safe, reasonable and adequate service at rates which are just and reasonable to customers and public utilities.” The Commission has jurisdiction over water utilities, electric utilities, water carriers, gas utilities, telephone utilities, and resellers of telephone
services.

Restructuring: The process of opening Maine’s electricity supply in a competitivemarket. Customers may choose who generates the electricity they purchase. Electricity will continue to be delivered by local electric companies such as Bangor Hydro.

Service Days: The number of days between the previous meter read date and the current meter read date used for each billing period.
Standard Offer Price: The portion of the billing which applies to the charges for electric energy and capacity. This rate applies when you do not choose an Electricity Supplier. The price is established and regulated by the Maine Public Utilities Commission.

Transmission and Distribution (T&D): Transmission ser vice transmits electricity from power plants through high-voltage lines to distribution substations. Distribution services deliver the electricity from substations to individual customers. Bangor Hydro provides both T&D services.

Transmission Charge: These are related to transmitting the power from power plants across high-voltage power lines to our distribution substations and is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Volts: The force of electricity through the wire.

Watts: A unit of electricity. Measuring the force of its electricity (volts) and theamount of its flow (amps). In mathematical formula: watts = volts x amps.

Return to Energy Manager