2006 Ohio Revised Code - 4928.01. Definitions.

§ 4928.01. Definitions.
 

(A)  As used in this chapter: 

(1) "Ancillary service" means any function necessary to the provision of electric transmission or distribution service to a retail customer and includes, but is not limited to, scheduling, system control, and dispatch services; reactive supply from generation resources and voltage control service; reactive supply from transmission resources service; regulation service; frequency response service; energy imbalance service; operating reserve-spinning reserve service; operating reserve-supplemental reserve service; load following; back-up supply service; real-power loss replacement service; dynamic scheduling; system black start capability; and network stability service. 

(2) "Billing and collection agent" means a fully independent agent, not affiliated with or otherwise controlled by an electric utility, electric services company, electric cooperative, or governmental aggregator subject to certification under section 4928.08 of the Revised Code, to the extent that the agent is under contract with such utility, company, cooperative, or aggregator solely to provide billing and collection for retail electric service on behalf of the utility company, cooperative, or aggregator. 

(3) "Certified territory" means the certified territory established for an electric supplier under sections 4933.81 to 4933.90 of the Revised Code as amended by Sub. S.B. No. 3 of the 123rd general assembly. 

(4) "Competitive retail electric service" means a component of retail electric service that is competitive as provided under division (B) of this section. 

(5) "Electric cooperative" means a not-for-profit electric light company that both is or has been financed in whole or in part under the "Rural Electrification Act of 1936," 49 Stat. 1363, 7 U.S.C. 901, and owns or operates facilities in this state to generate, transmit, or distribute electricity, or a not-for-profit successor of such company. 

(6) "Electric distribution utility" means an electric utility that supplies at least retail electric distribution service. 

(7) "Electric light company" has the same meaning as in section 4905.03 of the Revised Code and includes an electric services company, but excludes any self-generator to the extent it consumes electricity it so produces or to the extent it sells for resale electricity it so produces. 

(8) "Electric load center" has the same meaning as in section 4933.81 of the Revised Code. 

(9) "Electric services company" means an electric light company that is engaged on a for-profit or not-for-profit basis in the business of supplying or arranging for the supply of only a competitive retail electric service in this state. "Electric services company" includes a power marketer, power broker, aggregator, or independent power producer but excludes an electric cooperative, municipal electric utility, governmental aggregator, or billing and collection agent. 

(10) "Electric supplier" has the same meaning as in section 4933.81 of the Revised Code. 

(11) "Electric utility" means an electric light company that is engaged on a for-profit basis in the business of supplying a noncompetitive retail electric service in this state or in the businesses of supplying both a noncompetitive and a competitive retail electric service in this state. "Electric utility" excludes a municipal electric utility or a billing and collection agent. 

(12) "Firm electric service" means electric service other than nonfirm electric service. 

(13) "Governmental aggregator" means a legislative authority of a municipal corporation, a board of township trustees, or a board of county commissioners acting as an aggregator for the provision of a competitive retail electric service under authority conferred under section 4928.20 of the Revised Code. 

(14) A person acts "knowingly," regardless of the person's purpose, when the person is aware that the person's conduct will probably cause a certain result or will probably be of a certain nature. A person has knowledge of circumstances when the person is aware that such circumstances probably exist. 

(15) "Level of funding for low-income customer energy efficiency programs provided through electric utility rates" means the level of funds specifically included in an electric utility's rates on the effective date of this section pursuant to an order of the public utilities commission issued under Chapter 4905. or 4909. of the Revised Code and in effect on the day before the effective date of this section, for the purpose of improving the energy efficiency of housing for the utility's low-income customers. The term excludes the level of any such funds committed to a specific nonprofit organization or organizations pursuant to a stipulation or contract. 

(16) "Low-income customer assistance programs" means the percentage of income payment plan program as prescribed in rules 4901:1-18-02(B) to (G) and 4901:1-18-04(B) of the Ohio Administrative Code in effect on the effective date of this section or, if modified pursuant to authority under section 4928.53 of the Revised Code, the program as modified; the home energy assistance program as prescribed in section 5117.21 of the Revised Code and in executive order 97-1023-V or, if modified pursuant to authority under section 4928.53 of the Revised Code, the program as modified; the home weatherization assistance program as prescribed in division (A)(6) of section 122.011 [122.01.1] and in section 122.02 of the Revised Code or, if modified pursuant to authority under section 4928.53 of the Revised Code, the program as modified; the Ohio energy credit program as prescribed in sections 5117.01 to 5117.05, 5117.07 to 5117.12, and 5117.99 of the Revised Code or, if modified pursuant to authority under section 4928.53 of the Revised Code, the program as modified; and the targeted energy efficiency and weatherization program established under section 4928.55 of the Revised Code. 

(17) "Market development period" for an electric utility means the period of time beginning on the starting date of competitive retail electric service and ending on the applicable date for that utility as specified in section 4928.40 of the Revised Code, irrespective of whether the utility applies to receive transition revenues under this chapter. 

(18) "Market power" means the ability to impose on customers a sustained price for a product or service above the price that would prevail in a competitive market. 

(19) "Mercantile commercial customer" means a commercial or industrial customer if the electricity consumed is for nonresidential use and the customer consumes more than seven hundred thousand kilowatt hours per year or is part of a national account involving multiple facilities in one or more states. 

(20) "Municipal electric utility" means a municipal corporation that owns or operates facilities to generate, transmit, or distribute electricity. 

(21) "Noncompetitive retail electric service" means a component of retail electric service that is noncompetitive as provided under division (B) of this section. 

(22) "Nonfirm electric service" means electric service provided pursuant to a schedule filed under section 4905.30 of the Revised Code or pursuant to an arrangement under section 4905.31 of the Revised Code, which schedule or arrangement includes conditions that may require the customer to curtail or interrupt electric usage during nonemergency circumstances upon notification by an electric utility. 

(23) "Percentage of income payment plan arrears" means funds eligible for collection through the percentage of income payment plan rider, but uncollected as of July 1, 2000. 

(24) "Person" has the same meaning as in section 1.59 of the Revised Code. 

(25) "Project" means any real or personal property connected with all or part of an industrial, distribution, commercial, or research facility, not-for-profit facility, or residence that is to be acquired, constructed, reconstructed, enlarged, improved, furnished, or equipped, or any combination of those activities, with aid furnished pursuant to sections 4928.61 to 4928.63 of the Revised Code for the purposes of not-for-profit, industrial, commercial, distribution, residential, and research development in this state. "Project" includes, but is not limited to, any small-scale renewables project. 

(26) "Regulatory assets" means the unamortized net regulatory assets that are capitalized or deferred on the regulatory books of the electric utility, pursuant to an order or practice of the public utilities commission or pursuant to generally accepted accounting principles as a result of a prior commission rate-making decision, and that would otherwise have been charged to expense as incurred or would not have been capitalized or otherwise deferred for future regulatory consideration absent commission action. "Regulatory assets" includes, but is not limited to, all deferred demand-side management costs; all deferred percentage of income payment plan arrears; post-in-service capitalized charges and assets recognized in connection with statement of financial accounting standards no. 109 (receivables from customers for income taxes); future nuclear decommissioning costs and fuel disposal costs as those costs have been determined by the commission in the electric utility's most recent rate or accounting application proceeding addressing such costs; the underpreciatedÅ costs of safety and radiation control equipment on nuclear generating plants owned or leased by an electric utility; and fuel costs currently deferred pursuant to the terms of one or more settlement agreements approved by the commission. 

(27) "Retail electric service" means any service involved in supplying or arranging for the supply of electricity to ultimate consumers in this state, from the point of generation to the point of consumption. For the purposes of this chapter, retail electric service includes one or more of the following "service components": generation service, aggregation service, power marketing service, power brokerage service, transmission service, distribution service, ancillary service, metering service, and billing and collection service. 

(28) "Small electric generation facility" means an electric generation plant and associated facilities designed for, or capable of, operation at a capacity of less than two megawatts. 

(29) "Starting date of competitive retail electric service" means January 1, 2001, except as provided in division (C) of this section. 

(30) "Customer-generator" means a user of a net metering system. 

(31) "Net metering" means measuring the difference in an applicable billing period between the electricity supplied by an electric service provider and the electricity generated by a customer-generator which is fed back to the electric service provider. 

(32) "Net metering system" means a facility for the production of electrical energy that does all of the following: 

(a) Uses as its fuel either solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas, or hydropower, or uses a microturbine or a fuel cell; 

(b) Is located on a customer-generator's premises; 

(c) Operates in parallel with the electric utility's transmission and distribution facilities; 

(d) Is intended primarily to offset part or all of the customer-generator's requirements for electricity. 

(33) "Self-generator" means an entity in this state that owns an electric generation facility that produces electricity primarily for the owner's consumption and that may provide any such excess electricity to retail electric service providers, whether the facility is installed or operated by the owner or by an agent under a contract. 

(B)  For the purposes of this chapter, a retail electric service component shall be deemed a competitive retail electric service if the service component is competitive pursuant to a declaration by a provision of the Revised Code or pursuant to an order of the public utilities commission authorized under division (A) of section 4928.04 of the Revised Code. Otherwise, the service component shall be deemed a noncompetitive retail electric service. 

(C)  Prior to January 1, 2001, and after application by an electric utility, notice, and an opportunity to be heard, the public utilities commission may issue an order delaying the January 1, 2001, starting date of competitive retail electric service for the electric utility for a specified number of days not to exceed six months, but only for extreme technical conditions precluding the start of competitive retail electric service on January 1, 2001. 
 

HISTORY: 148 v S 3. Eff 10-5-99.
 

Å So in enrolled bill, division (A)(26). 
 

The provisions of § 9 of SB 3 (148 v  - ) read as follows: 

SECTION 9. Sections 4905.301, 4905.66, 4905.67, 4905.68, 4905.69, 4909.157, 4909.158, 4909.159, 4909.191, 4909.192, 4909.193, 4913.01, 4913.02, 4913.03, 4913.04, 4913.05, 4913.06, 4913.07, 4933.27, and 4933.34 of the Revised Code, as repealed by this act, shall take effect on January 1, 2001, but if the Public Utilities Commission issues an order under division (C) of section 4928.01 of the Revised Code, as enacted by this act, the repeal of such sections shall be applied accordingly.