D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 15, r. 15-4699

Current through Register 71, No. 45, November 7, 2024

Rule 15-4699 - DEFINITIONS

4699.1

For the Purposes of these rules, the following terms shall have the meaning ascribed:

Act: The Retail Competition and Consumer Protection Act of 1999, effective May 9, 2000 (D.C. Law 13-107; D.C. Official Code §§ 34-1501et seq. (2001)).

Affiliate: A Person who directly or indirectly, or through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, or has, directly or indirectly, any economic interest in another person.

Aggregator: A Person who acts on behalf of Customers to purchase electricity.

Applicant: A Person who applies for an Electricity Supplier License required by the Act.

Application: The written request by a Person for an Electricity Supplier License in a form specified by the Commission.

Broker: A Person who acts as an agent or intermediary in the sale and purchase of electricity but who does not take title to electricity.

Business Day: A Day in which normal business is transacted, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal and District of Columbia holidays.

Commission: The Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia.

Cramming: The practice of adding services or Charges to a Customer's existing electricity supplier service options absent the express consent of the Customer.

Customer: A purchaser of electricity for end use in the District of Columbia. The term excludes an occupant of a building where the owner, lessee, or manager manages the internal distribution system serving the building and supplies electricity solely to occupants of the building for use by the occupants.

Customer Payments Bond: A bond or other form of acceptable financial instrument such as a line of credit, sworn letter of guarantee, bank loan approval documents, recent bank statements, vendor financing agreements or underwriting agreements in an amount at least equal to the total amount of Deposits or Prepayments.

Day: A Calendar day, unless otherwise specified.

Deposit: Any payment made by a Customer to an Electricity Supplier to secure the Electricity Supplier against potential Customer nonpayment or default.

Default: The omission or failure to perform a legal or contractual duty.

Defaulted Licensee: A Licensee is in default and is unable to deliver electricity because:

(1) the Commission revokes or suspends the Electricity Supplier's retail Electricity Supplier License; or

(2) the Licensee is unable to transact sales of electricity through the Regional Transmission Organization designated for the District of Columbia by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Electric Company: Includes every corporation, company, association, joint-stock company or association, partnership, or Person doing business in the District of Columbia, their lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever, physically transmitting or distributing electricity in the District of Columbia to retail electric Customers, excluding any Person distributing electricity from a behind-the-meter generator to a single retail customer behind the same meter and located on the same premise as the customer's meter. In addition, the term excludes any building owner, lessee, or manager who, respectively, owns, leases, or manages, the internal distribution system serving the building and who supplies electricity and other electricity related services solely to the occupants of the building for use by the occupants. The term also excludes a Person that does not sell or distribute electricity and that owns or operates equipment used exclusively for the charging of electric vehicles.

Electricity Supplier: A person, including an Aggregator, Broker, or Marketer, who generates electricity; sells electricity; or purchases, brokers, arranges or markets electricity for sale to Customers. The term excludes the following:

(a) Building owners, lessees, or managers who manage the internal distribution system serving such building and who supply electricity solely to the occupants of the building for use by the occupants;

(b) Any Person who purchases electricity for its own use or for the use of its subsidiaries or affiliates;

(c) Any apartment building or office building manager who aggregates electric service requirements for his or her building or buildings, and who does not:

(1) Take title to electricity;

(2) Market electric services to the individually-metered tenants of his or her building; or

(3) Engage in the resale of electric services to others;

(d) Property owners who supply small amounts of power, at cost, as an accommodation to lessors or licensees of the property;

(e) Consolidators;

(f) A Community Renewable Energy Facilities ("CREFs") as defined in 15 DCMR § 4199.1 and as described in 15 DCMR §§ 4109.1- 4109.3 pursuant to the Community Renewable Energy Amendment Act of 2013 (D.C. Law 20-47; D.C. Official Code §§ 34-1518et seq.);

(g) An Electric Company; and

(h) Any Person or entity that owns a behind-the-meter generator and sells or supplies the electricity from that generator to a single retail customer or customers behind the same meter located on the same premise.

Electricity Supplier License: The authority granted by an order of the Commission to a Person to do business as an Electricity Supplier in the District of Columbia.

Independent System Operator or "ISO": An entity authorized by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to manage and control the electric transmission grid in a state or region.

Integrity Bond: A bond that is required of an Electricity Supplier who cannot provide credible evidence that it meets the standards listed in § 4605.1 of this Chapter.

Licensee: An Electricity Supplier who has been granted a valid Electricity Supplier License by the Commission.

Marketer: A Person who purchases and takes title to electricity as an intermediary for sale to customers.

OPC: The Office of the People's Counsel of the District of Columbia

Person: An individual, corporation, company, association, joint stock company, association, firm, partnership, or other entity.

Prepayments: All payments other than a Deposit made by a Customer to an Electricity Supplier for services that have not been rendered at the time of payment, subject to the following:

(a) Where an Electricity Supplier charges for services based on a quantity of electricity, such as a price per kilowatt/hour, then Prepayments include any payments for any quantity that has not been delivered to the Customer or Consumer at the time of payment;

(b) Where an Electricity Supplier charges for services based on a period of time, such as charging a membership fee, initiation fee or other fee for services for a time period, then Prepayments include the amount of the total charges collected by the Electricity Supplier for the period of time less the prorated value of the period of time for which services have been rendered;

(c) Where an Electricity Supplier charges for services based on a measure other than quantity of electricity delivered or a period of time, the Commission shall determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether the charges involve a prepayment; and

(d) Prepayments do not include any funds received in advance of the services being rendered as a result of the Consumer's voluntary participation in a budget billing or level billing plan by which the consumer's anticipated electrical costs are averaged over a period of time.

Regional Transmission Organization or "RTO": An entity designated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to direct operations of the regional electric transmission grid in its area to ensure electric grid reliability.

Regulatory Contact: The staff contact for the Licensed Electricity Supplier that handles regulatory matters for that company or entity.

Slamming: The practice of switching, or causing to be switched, a Customer's electricity supplier Account without the express authorization of the Customer.

Solicitation: A communication in any medium that urges a customer to Contract for receipt of specific electricity services from an Electricity Supplier. Types of Solicitation may include, but are not limited to, telephone Solicitation, radio advertisements, print advertisements, home Solicitations, electronic advertisements (i.e. Internet), newspaper advertisements, and written Solicitations.

Standard Offer Service or SOS: Electricity supply made available on and after the initial implementation date to:

(1) Customers who contract for electricity with an Electricity Supplier, but who fail to receive delivery of electricity under such contracts;

(2) Customers who cannot arrange to purchase electricity from an Electricity Supplier; and

(3) Customers who do not choose an Electricity Supplier.

SOS Administrator: The provider of Standard Offer Service mandated by D.C. Official Code § 34-1509.

Supplier Coordination Agreement: The agreement between the Electric Company and the Electricity Supplier whereby the Electric Company agrees to supply, and the Electricity Supplier requests and agrees to take, all "Coordination Services" pursuant to the Electric Company's Electricity Supplier Tariff.

D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 15, r. 15-4699

Final Rulemaking published at 65 DCR 9970 (9/28/2018 - Vol. 1)