I think that this is your problem. For example, in an AC system the charges wiggle back and forth, yet the energy moves rapidly forward. Now if we had just a single word for both air and sound, nobody could discuss them or understand them.
Conductors contain charges, and during an electric current the conductors' charges flow.
This flow is fairly slow. And in an AC system, charges do not flow forward at all, instead they sit in place and vibrate. When a generator or battery sends electrical energy to a light bulb, the energy travels as electromagnetic fields which are guided by the connecting wires. If the wires are bare, then this energy travels at the same speed as the speed of light in atmosphere. If the wires are covered with plastic, then this energy travels more slowly, depending on the geometry of the plastic and the permittivity of the material.