Definitions

American Gas Association (AGA): An association that represents 192 local natural gas utilities that deliver gas to more than 53 million homes and businesses across the nation. The AGA is a clearinghouse for gas energy information and a catalyst in technical and energy policy matters.
Aggregation Charge: A charge that applies to all transportation gas that crosses gate stations in the Public Service gas distribution system.
Annual Supply Backup Service: An optional service for gas transportation customers who have purchased Peak Day Backup Service. This option allows them to purchase firm gas commodity from Wisconsin Public Service for a portion of their gas load.
ANR Pipeline Co.: The interstate pipeline company that delivers natural gas to Wisconsin Public Service's territory. ANR is regulated by FERC.
Approved Nomination: The amount of gas nominated by a transportation customer (or the customer's supplier or broker) and recognized by ANR Pipeline Co. as gas delivered to Wisconsin Public Service's city gate station for that customer's use.
Billing Determinate: One of two multipliers, in dekatherms, used to determine the Distribution Access Charge for customers of Wisconsin Public Service in the Wausau and Manitowoc areas.
British thermal unit (Btu): A measure of heat energy, representing the amount of heat needed to raise one pound of water 1 degree Fahrenheit at sea level
Central Clock Time: Refers to the time on clocks in the Central Time Zone, whether it is Central Standard Time or Daylight Savings Time.
Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN): A special permit, commonly issued by a state Commission, which allows a utility to engage in business, construct facilities or perform some other service. Also, a permit issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission allowing a party to transport natural gas, or sell it for resale, in interstate commerce, or to construct, acquire or operate any facilities necessary for that purpose. The Commission involved may attach any reasonable terms and conditions that public convenience and necessity may require.
City Gate: The point at which Wisconsin Public Service accepts delivery of gas from ANR Pipeline Co.
Company Use Gas / Gas Lost and Unaccounted For: Gas used during the distribution process, and gas that flows into the Public Service distribution system but is never metered as being used by a customer or the utility. An adjustment factor is applied per therm to account for this.
Daily Balancing: Utilities and transportation customers must balance gas use every day, comparing the amount of gas nominated with actual use to account for all gas that flows through a pipeline.
Daily Nomination: A company's estimated gas use for the day.
Degree Day, Cooling: A measure of the need for air conditioning (cooling) based on temperature and humidity. Although cooling degree days are published for many weather stations, a standard has not been generally accepted.
Degree Day, Heating: A measure of the coldness of the weather experienced, based on the extent to which the daily mean temperature falls below a reference temperature, usually 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
Delivery Point: The point at which gas leaves a transporter's system, completing a sale or transportation service transaction between the pipeline company and a sale or transportation service customer.
Dekatherm (DTH): A unit of heating value equivalent to 10 therms or 1,000,000 Btus.
Docket: A docket number is assigned to each issue the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin places on its agenda, in order to more easily track its progress through the process.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): A federal agency that protects human health and safeguards the natural environment — air, water and land.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC): A federal agency that regulates interstate wholesale energy transactions, including gas transportation and electric transmission, to ensure reasonable rates.
FERC Order 636: A FERC ruling effective Nov. 1, 1993, that essentially prohibits pipeline companies from buying and selling gas. Order 636 unbundled gas services, giving customers more options for buying, transporting and storing natural gas.
Firm System Sales Service: The utility provides uninterrupted gas supply and gas distribution service, except in emergencies.
Force Majeure: A superior force, "act of God" or unexpected and disruptive event that may relieve a party from a contract or obligation.
Gas Day: A period of 24 consecutive hours beginning at a specified hour (9:00 CST) on a given calendar day and ending at the same specified hour on the next calendar day.
Gas Transportation Management Service: Transportation customers may hire Wisconsin Public Service to manage the firm pipeline capacity contracts they own. Public Service will contract with suppliers for gas and manage balancing on the system, while customers have the flexibility to maintain a contract for transportation.
Gas Technology Institute (GTI): The research, development and commercialization organization of the natural gas industry.
Henry Hub: A pipeline interchange located in Vermillion Parish, Louisiana, which serves as the delivery point for natural gas futures contracts.
Hub: A market or supply area pooling/delivery area where gas supply transactions occur to facilitate the movement of gas between and among interstate pipelines. Transactions can include a change in title, a change in transporter or other similar items.
Interruptible System Sales Service: The utility provides gas supply and gas distribution service. However, customers agree to have their service interrupted when demand is high. Interruptible rates are lower than firm system rates.
Intra-day Nomination: A change in a gas nomination that is made between the hours of 6 p.m. (the evening before the gas day starts) through 5 p.m. of the gas day.
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG): Natural gas that has been liquefied by reducing its temperature to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit at atmospheric pressure. It remains a liquid at minus 116 degrees Fahrenheit and 673 psig. It occupies 1/600 of the volume of the vapor at standard conditions.
Local Distribution Company (LDC): Wisconsin Public Service and other utilities that distribute natural gas from the city gate to customers' meters. ANR Pipeline Co. delivers gas to Public Service's city gate.
Marketer (Broker): A nonregulated buyer and seller of natural gas.
Maximum Daily Quantity (MDQ): Refers to the maximum daily consumption of natural gas, in dekatherms, used by customers of Wisconsin Public Service in the Wausau and Manitowoc areas.
MMBtu: A thermal unit of energy equal to 1,000,000 Btus (that is, the equivalent of 1,000 cubic feet of gas having a heating content of 1,000 Btus per cubic foot, as provided by contract measurement terms). (See Dekatherm.)
Monthly Cashout: A method used by transportation customers to balance monthly actual use with nominated gas use. Monthly cashout was developed by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to encourage transportation customers to keep their nominations as close to actual use as possible.
Nominated Firm Service: An optional service offered to interruptible system customers who want firm service for part of their gas load.
No-Notice Delivery Service: Delivery of natural gas on an as-needed basis, without the need to precisely specify the delivery quantity in advance. No-notice delivery is generally made at the city gate or burner tip.
Peak Day Backup Service: An optional service offered to transportation customers who want some firm service from Wisconsin Public Service for part of their gas load.
Pooling: Combining customers' gas usage to reduce fees for daily imbalances.
Pressure Base Correction: An adjustment factor that applies to all gas delivered to the city gate for a customer's use. This factor accounts for the different gas measurement assumptions Public Service and ANR Pipeline Co. use.
Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC): A state regulatory agency that ensures utility services are provided to customers at reasonable rates.
Purchased Gas Adjustment: A pricing mechanism applied to Firm System Sales Service and Interruptible System Sales Service. Wisconsin Public Service periodically increases or decreases the rate charged to firm and interruptible customers for gas commodity and interstate pipeline services, in response to changes in costs recovered for these products and services. All Purchased Gas Adjustments are approved by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin.
Shipper: A transportation customer, marketer or local distribution company that holds a natural gas capacity contract on a pipeline. The shipper is responsible for nominating and transporting natural gas.
System Supply: Natural gas supplies purchased, owned and sold by the local distribution company.
Tariff: A gas company schedule detailing the terms, conditions and rate information that apply to various types of natural gas service. Tariffs are filed with and approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or a state regulatory body.
Therm: A measure of the heat content of gas equal to 100,000 Btus.
Transportation Service: The customer (or the customer's broker) delivers gas commodity to the Wisconsin Public Service distribution system. Public Service then delivers this gas commodity to the customer's meter.
Wisconsin Distributor Group (WDG): A group of Wisconsin gas utilities, including Wisconsin Public Service. WDG formed 20 years ago to address ANR Pipeline issues at FERC.

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