Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 220 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES › Title 220 CMR 11.00 - Rules Governing the Restructuring of the Electric Industry › Section 11.02 - General Definitions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
For the purposes of
		  220 CMR 11.00, the terms set
		  forth below shall be defined as follows, unless the context otherwise
		  requires.
Affiliate
means any "affiliated
		  company" as defined in M.G.L. c. 164, § 85.
Aggregator
means an entity that groups
		  together electricity customers for retail sale purposes, except for public
		  entities, quasi-public entities or authorities, or subsidiary organizations
		  thereof, established pursuant to the laws of the Commonwealth.
Alternative Energy Producer
means any
		  person, firm, partnership, association, public or private corporation, or any
		  agency, department, board, commission or authority of the Commonwealth or of a
		  subdivision of the Commonwealth, that owns or operates a cogeneration facility
		  or small power production facility as defined in M.G.L. c. 164, and does not
		  engage in the retail sale of electricity other than sales to customers that are
		  within the confines of an industrial park, which existed prior to March 1,
		  1982, and in which park there existed as of said date electrical generating
		  capacity of more than 15 megawatts.
Ancillary Services
means those
		  functions that support generation, transmission, and distribution, including
		  the following services:
(a) reactive power/voltage control;
(b) loss compensation;
(c) scheduling and dispatch;
(d) load following;
(e) system protection service; and
(f) energy imbalance service.
Applicant
means any entity that has
		  filed an application for licensure as a Competitive Supplier or Electricity
		  Broker as required by the Massachusetts General Laws or by
		  220 CMR 11.00.
Basic Service
means Default Generation
		  Service provided on or after March 1, 2005 by a Distribution Company to a
		  Customer who is not receiving Generation Service from a Competitive Supplier.
		  The Department approved the use of the term "Basic Service" in D.T.E. 04-
		  115-A. Basic Service is also known as Default Generation Service or
		  Default/Basic Generation Service.
Bill
means a written statement from a
		  Distribution Company or a Competitive Supplier to its Customer setting forth,
		  for the billing period identified in the Distribution Company's tariff:
(a) the amount of electricity consumed or estimated to have
		  been consumed;
(b) charges for Generation, Transmission, and Distribution
		  Services, as appropriate;
(c) charges for Energy Efficiency and Renewable
		  Resources;
(d) the Transition Charge, as appropriate; and
(e) any other charges.
Capacity
means the load for which a
		  generating unit, generating station, or other electrical apparatus is rated
		  either by the user or by the manufacturer.
Competitive Supplier
means an entity
		  licensed by the Department to sell electricity and related services to Retail
		  Customers, with the following exceptions:
(a) a Distribution Company providing Standard Offer Generation
		  Service and Default/Basic Generation Service to its Distribution Customers;
		  and
(b) a municipal light department that is acting as a
		  Distribution Company.
Default Generation Service
means the
		  service provided by the Distribution Company to a Customer who is not receiving
		  either Generation Service from a Competitive Supplier or Standard Offer
		  Generation Service, in accordance with
		  220 CMR
		  11.04(9)(c)  and the
		  provisions set forth in the Distribution Company's Default Generation Service
		  tariff on file with the Department. Default Generation Service is also known as
		  Basic Service or Default/Basic Generation Service.
Demand-side Management (DSM)
means any
		  technology, measure, or action designed to decrease the kilowatt or
		  kilowatthour use, or to alter the time pattern of that use by consumers of
		  electricity.
Department
means the Department of
		  Public Utilities.
Distribution Company
means a company
		  engaging in the distribution of electricity to Retail Customers or owning,
		  operating, or controlling Distribution Facilities; provided, however, a
		  Distribution Company shall not include any entity that owns or operates plant
		  or equipment used to produce electricity, steam, and chilled water, or any
		  affiliate engaged solely in the provision of such electricity, steam, and
		  chilled water, where the electricity produced by such entity or its affiliate
		  is primarily for the benefit of hospitals and non-profit educational
		  institutions, and where such plant or equipment was in operation prior to
		  January 1, 1986.
Distribution Customer
means a
		  recipient of Distribution Service provided by a Distribution Company.
Distribution Facility
means plant or
		  equipment used for the distribution of electricity to Retail Customers and that
		  is not a Transmission Facility, a cogeneration facility, a Generation Facility
		  or a small power production facility.
Distribution Service
means the
		  delivery of electricity to the Customer by the Distribution Company over lines
		  that operate at a voltage level typically equal to or greater than 110 volts
		  and less than 69,000 volts.
Electric Company
means a corporation
		  organized under the laws of the Commonwealth for the purpose of making
		  electricity by means of water power, steam power or otherwise and selling, or
		  distributing and selling, or only distributing, such electricity within the
		  Commonwealth, or authorized by special act so to do, even though subsequently
		  authorized to make or sell gas; provided, however, that Electric Company shall
		  not mean an alternative energy producer, and provided further, that an electric
		  company shall not include any entity that owns or operates a plant or equipment
		  used to produce electricity, steam, and chilled water, or any affiliate engaged
		  solely in the provision of such electricity, steam, and chilled water, where
		  the electricity produced by such entity or its affiliate is primarily for the
		  benefit of hospitals and non-profit educational institutions, and where such
		  plant or equipment was in operation prior to January 1, 1986.
Electric Service
means the provision
		  of Generation, Transmission, Distribution, or Ancillary Services.
Electricity Broker
means an entity,
		  including but not limited to an Aggregator, that facilitates or otherwise
		  arranges for the purchase and sale of electricity and related services to
		  Retail Customers, but does not sell electricity. Public Aggregators shall not
		  be considered Electricity Brokers.
Energy
means the amount of electricity
		  used over a period of time, typically measured in kilowatthours.
Energy Efficiency
means the
		  implementation of an action, policy, or measure which entails the application
		  of the least amount of energy required to produce a desired or given output and
		  includes demand-side management and energy conservation services.
Generation Company
means an entity
		  engaging in the business of producing, manufacturing, or generating electricity
		  for sale to Retail Customers.
Generation Facility
means plant or
		  equipment that is used to produce, manufacture, or otherwise generate
		  electricity and that is not a Transmission Facility.
Generation Service
means the provision
		  of electricity and related services to a Retail Customer by a Competitive
		  Supplier.
Independent System Operator or ISO
means ISO New England, Inc. authorized by the Federal Energy Regulatory
		  Commission to operate the New England bulk power system and administer New
		  England's organized wholesale electricity market pursuant to the ISO Tariff and
		  operation agreements with transmission owners.
Low-income Customers
means those
		  Customers who meet the low-income eligibility criteria set forth in
		  220 CMR
		  11.04(5).
Mitigation
means all actions or
		  occurrences that reduce the amount of money that a Distribution Company seeks
		  to collect through the Transition Charge, including those amounts resulting
		  both from matters within the Distribution Company's control and from matters
		  not wholly within its control. Mitigation, in accordance with M.G.L. c. 164,
		  §1G, includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(a) sales of Capacity, Energy, Ancillary Services, reserves,
		  and emission allowances from Generating Facilities that are wholly or partly
		  owned by the company;
(b) sales of Capacity, Energy, Ancillary Services, reserves,
		  and emission allowances from Generating Facilities with which the Distribution
		  Company has a purchased power agreement;
(c) adjustments to the company's minimum obligations under
		  purchased power agreements that decrease such obligations, such as those that
		  may be obtained through contract buy-out or renegotiation;
(d) Residual Value;
(e) sales and voluntary write-downs of company
		  generation-related assets;
(f) any market value in excess of net book value associated
		  with the sale, lease, transfer, or other use of the assets of the Distribution
		  Company unrelated to the provision of Transmission Service or Distribution
		  Service at regulated prices, including, but not limited to, rights-of-way,
		  property, and intangible assets when the costs associated with the acquisition
		  of the assets have been reflected in the Distribution Company's rates for
		  regulated service; provided, however, that market values are based on the
		  highest prices that such assets could reasonably realize after an open and
		  competitive sale; and
(g) any allowed refinancing of stranded assets or other debt
		  obligations as provided by law.
NEPOOL
means the New England Power
		  Pool and its successors.
New England Region
means the
		  geographic area consisting of the states Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New
		  Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Public Aggregator
means a municipality
		  or group of municipalities that groups interested electricity consumers within
		  its municipal boundaries to facilitate or otherwise arrange the purchase and
		  sale of electricity pursuant to M.G.L. c. 164, § 134.
Renewable Resources
means a type of
		  Generation Facility or energy source including either:
(a) resources whose common characteristic is that they are
		  nondepletable or are naturally replenishable but flow-limited, or
(b) existing or emerging non-fossil fuel energy sources or
		  technologies that have significant potential for commercialization in New
		  England and New York, and includes the following: solar photovoltaic or solar
		  thermal electric energy; wind energy; ocean thermal, wave, or tidal energy;
		  fuel cells; landfill gas; waste-to-energy which is a component of conventional
		  municipal solid waste plant technology in commercial use; naturally flowing
		  water and hydroelectric; and low-emission, advanced biomass power conversion
		  technologies, such as gasification using such biomass fuels as wood,
		  agricultural, or food wastes, energy crops, biogas, biodiesel, or organic
		  refuse-derived fuel.
The following technologies or fuels shall not be considered
		  Renewable Resources: coal, oil, natural gas except when used in fuel cells, and
		  nuclear power.
Residual Value
means the value of
		  Electric Company assets, not including the income that may be obtained through
		  Generation Facility operation.
Retail Access
means the use of
		  Transmission and Distribution Facilities owned by a Transmission Company or a
		  Distribution Company to transmit or distribute electricity from a Competitive
		  Supplier to a Retail Customer.
Retail Access Date
means March 1,
		  1998.
Retail Customer or Customer
means a
		  customer located in Massachusetts that purchases electricity for its own
		  consumption and not for resale in whole or in part.
Securitization
means the use of rate
		  reduction bonds to refinance debt and equity associated with Transition Costs
		  pursuant to M.G.L. c. 164.
Service Territory
means the service
		  territory actually served by the Distribution Company on July 1, 1997 and
		  following to the extent possible municipal boundaries.
Standard Offer Generation Service
means the service provided by the Distribution Company until March 1, 2005, in
		  accordance with
		  220 CMR
		  11.04(9)(b)  and the
		  provisions set forth in the Distribution Company's Standard Offer Generation
		  Service tariff on file with the Department.
Transition Charge
means the charge
		  that provides the mechanism for recovery of Transition Costs.
Transition Costs
means that portion of
		  the costs identified in accordance with
		  220 CMR 11.03(2)(d) and
		  (e) that remains after accounting for maximum
		  possible mitigation, subject to determination by the Department.
Transmission Company
means a company
		  engaging in the transmission of electricity or owning, operating, or
		  controlling Transmission Facilities.
Transmission Facility
means plant or
		  equipment used to provide Transmission Service.
Transmission Service
means the
		  delivery of electricity over lines that operate at a voltage level typically
		  equal to or greater than 69,000 volts from generating facilities across
		  interconnected high voltage lines to where it enters a distribution
		  system.
Unbundled Rates
means rates that
		  separately identify:
(a) charges for Generation, Transmission and Distribution
		  Services, as appropriate;
(b) charges for Energy Efficiency and Renewable
		  Resources;
(c) the Transition Charge, as appropriate; and
(d) any other charges.
Unit Contract
shall be as defined in
		  the Restated NEPOOL Agreement, or the successor agreement(s).