When shopping for electricity and gas you will come across quite a few energy terms. Here are a few common ones. If you need more information please contact Kiwi Energy Customer Care at 1-877-208-7636 for further assistance.
PSC: The Public Services Commission of New York – The state agency responsible for the regulation and oversight of energy, water, cable and local telecommunication services in New York. Broadly speaking their mission is to protect customers, foster competition and promote high-quality infrastructure. For Electric, the PSC licenses Energy Service Providers and oversees the NYISO market. The PSC regulates the delivery of electricity and gas and enforces consumer protection.
NYISO: Based in New York’s Capital Region, NYISO is a non-profit company that is governed by 10 members of the Board of Directors with the purpose of operating the high-voltage transmission network, administering and monitoring the wholesale electricity markets. They are also responsible for the reliable operation of the 11,000 miles of high-voltage transmission and the dispatch of more than 500 electric power generators, making NYISO the heart of New York’s electric system.
LDC: Local Distribution Company – The Utility company that provides the distribution, customer and energy services for natural gas and electricity.
kWh: Kilowatt Hour – This is the standard unit of measurement for electricity. Your electricity rate times the number of kWh consumed gives you your energy cost.
MWh: Megawatt Hour – A one Megawatt electricity generation plant operating at full capacity for 1 hour will produce one Megawatt-Hour of electricity. One MWh is equivalent to 1,000 kWh or one million Watt-Hours. The typical unit of measurement for a REC is one MWh.
THM: Thermal Unit – The therm (THM) is a non-SI unit of heat energy equal to 100,000 British thermal units (BTU). It is approximately the energy equivalent of burning 100 cubic feet (often referred to as 1 CCF) of natural gas.