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Divestiture - The separation
of one utility function from others by selling or changing ownership
of assets related to that function; most commonly associated with
spinning off generation assets so they no longer are owned by the
regulated utility that owns the transmission and distribution assets.
Load profile - Measurements of
a customer's electricity usage over a period of time that show how
much electricity that customer used and when that customer used it.
Suppliers and transmission system operators can use load profiles to
forecast electricity supply requirements and to determine the cost of
serving a customer.
Restructuring - The process of
separating a utility into its functions-transmission, distribution,
generation, and services-resulting in continued regulation of
distribution and transmission and competitive markets for generation
and services.
Distribution company - The
local company that owns the poles and wires necessary to deliver
electricity to a home or business. Following deregulation, the
distribution company will continue to maintain the existing wires and
poles and will be responsible for restoring electric service in the
event of an outage.
Customer charge - Part of the
monthly basic service charge on an electric customer's bill that
partially covers costs for billing, meter reading, equipment, service
line maintenance, and equipment. This charge is the same no matter how
much electricity the customer uses.
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