Glossary of TID and Utility Terms
Budget Billing – A program offered by TID that allows customers to receive an averaged bill each month for 6 months at a time.
Class of Service – A group of customers with similar characteristics (e.g., residential, farming, commercial, industrial, etc.) which are identified for the purpose of setting rates for electric service.
Customer Charge – An amount paid for providing electrical service based upon costs incurred for metering, meter reading, bill printing and mailing, etc. exclusive of kilowatts (kW) and kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumption.
Energy Audit – A survey conducted by TID at a home or business to assist customers in understanding their energy use.
Energy Charge – An amount paid for electric service that is based upon the electric energy consumed (kWh).
Facilities Charge – A charge assessed to all customers taking service in the Westside Zone. The Facilities Charge shall provide revenues for the purpose of recovering costs incurred in procuring the Westside Zone.
Demand Charge – An amount paid for electric service that is based upon peak usage and the electric capacity consumed (kW).
Power Factor Charge – An amount paid that is based upon costs incurred for supplying reactive power that is needed in most types of inductive load or magnetic equipment such as motors.
Public Benefits Surcharge – A 2.85% surcharge on the total electric bill excluding other taxes, surcharges, and Facilities Charge if applicable, as calculated based on the applicable charges contained in the rate schedules. The Public Benefit Surcharge is assessed to all customers taking service as required by Assembly Bill 1890 signed into law by Governor Wilson on September 23, 1996.
Publicly Owned Electric System – An electric utility system owned by its customers and governed by an elected Board of Directors. This differs from an investor-owned utility, which is owned by shareholders.
Reading Schedule – A calendar available to customers upon request that indicates on which day of each month their meter is scheduled to be read.
Time of Use – An optional rate schedule available to farming and commercial customers in which energy consumed during off-peak hours is less expensive than energy consumed during on-peak hours.
Westside Zone – Area that includes, but is not limited to, the City of Patterson, downtown Crows Landing and Diablo Grande. For a detailed description of the Westside Zone, please see the Westside Zone Electrical Operations Boundary Description.
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