52 Pa. Code § 58.2
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Administrative costs—Expenses not directly related to the provision of program services. The term may include salaries, fringe benefits and related personnel costs for administration, secretarial and clerical support involved in fiscal activities, planning, personnel administration, and the like; office expenses, such as rents, postage, copying and equipment; and other expenses, such as quality control and evaluation expenses, advertising, training and insurance.
BCS—Bureau of Consumer Services—The Commission’s bureau with the responsibility to advise the Commission regarding universal service matters including the oversight of the review process of a public utility’s universal service programs.
CAP—Customer Assistance Program—A universal service program, as approved by the Commission, that provides payment assistance or pre-program arrearage forgiveness, or both, to a low-income residential customer.
CAP shortfall—The difference between the actual tariff rate for jurisdictional residential energy service and the amount charged on a CAP participant’s bill. This term is synonymous with ‘‘CAP credits.’’
CARES—Customer assistance and referral evaluation services—A universal service program, as approved by the Commission, that provides a referral-based approach or a casework approach, or both, to help a payment-troubled customer secure energy assistance funds and other needed services to maximize the customer’s ability to pay utility bills.
CBO—Community-based organization—A public or private nonprofit organization that is representative of a community or a significant segment of a community and that works to meet community needs.
CNGDO—City natural gas distribution operation—A collection of real and personal assets used for distributing natural gas to retail gas customers owned by a city or a municipal authority, nonprofit corporation or public corporation formed under 66 Pa.C.S. § 2212(m) (relating to city natural gas distribution operations). Under 66 Pa.C.S. § 2212(c), for the purposes of universal service and energy conservation, a CNGDO is subject to the same requirements, policies and provisions applicable to a NGDC.
Commission—The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
De facto heating—Use of an alternative heating source as the primary heating source when the primary or central heating system is nonfunctioning or public utility service has been terminated.
Dwelling—A structure being supplied with residential utility service such as a house, apartment, mobile home or single-metered multiunit under § 56.2 (relating to definitions).
EDC—Electric distribution company—A public utility providing jurisdictional electric distribution service as defined in 66 Pa.C.S. § 2803 (relating to definitions). This term is synonymous with ‘‘electronic distribution utility’’ as defined in § 56.2.
ESP—Energy service provider—An organization, contractor, subcontractor or public utility representative responsible for providing program services on behalf of a public utility.
Eligible customer—A space-heating, space-cooling, water-heating or high-use electric baseload low-income or special needs residential customer who meets the criteria for a public utility’s LIURP, as specified in its approved USECP.
Energy audit—An initial assessment of a dwelling performed by an ESP to determine the energy usage and appropriate program services.
Energy conservation education—A presentation, workshop, training or instruction in which energy conservation objectives and techniques are explained or presented to a group or an individual.
Energy savings—An amount of saved energy determined by comparing the energy usage before the provision of program services and after the provision of program services.
FPIG—Federal Poverty Income Guidelines—The income levels published annually in the Federal Register by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. This term is synonymous with ‘‘Federal poverty level.’’
Hardship fund—A universal service program, as approved by the Commission, that provides cash assistance to help eligible customers address energy needs, which may include paying energy bills, restoring public utility service or stopping a termination of public utility service.
Health and safety measure—A program measure or repair necessary to maintain and protect the physical well-being and comfort of an occupant of a dwelling or an ESP while performing a LIURP job, or both.
Impact evaluation—An evaluation that focuses on the degree to which a universal service program achieves the continuation of utility service to program participants at a reasonable cost level and otherwise meets program goals.
Incidental repair—Work necessary to permit the installation of a program measure including a repair to an existing measure to make it operate more effectively.
LIHEAP—Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program—A Federally funded program, administered in this Commonwealth by the Department of Human Services, which provides financial assistance grants to low-income households for home energy bills.
LIURP—Low-Income Usage Reduction Program—A universal service program, as approved by the Commission, that provides energy usage reduction services, health, safety and comfort services, conservation education services or a combination of these services for an eligible customer.
LIURP budget—The expected cost of providing program services in a given program year, as approved by the Commission.
LIURP costs—The amount of LIURP funds spent by the public utility on LIURP under this chapter.
LIURP funding mechanism—The process and method by which the public utility recovers its costs of providing approved program services.
LIURP funds—The proceeds recovered through a public utility’s LIURP funding mechanism to recover LIURP costs.
LIURP job—The act of providing program services to a dwelling by an ESP, which can include an energy audit, installation or modification of program measures, energy conservation education and inspecting the dwelling for efficiency upon completion.
Low-income customer—A residential public utility customer whose annual gross household income is at or below 150% of the FPIG.
NGDC—Natural gas distribution company—A public utility providing jurisdictional natural gas distribution service as defined in 66 Pa.C.S. § 2202 (relating to definitions). This term is synonymous with ‘‘natural gas distribution utility (NGDU),’’ as defined in § 56.2. This term includes a regulated CNGDO for universal service and energy conservation purposes under 66 Pa.C.S. § 2212(c).
Payment-troubled customer—A customer who has an arrearage or has failed to maintain one or more payment arrangements in a 1-year period.
Pilot program—A program, as approved by the Commission, to operate within the public utility’s LIURP, to develop, implement and evaluate new or innovative methods for achieving the purposes of this chapter.
Post-installation inspection—An assessment performed by an ESP to determine the efficacy of program measures installed at a dwelling.
Program measure—An installation and other work performed on a dwelling under this chapter.
Program service—A service offered or work performed by a public utility or its ESP under this chapter.
Program year—The calendar year period beginning January 1 and ending on December 31.
Public utility—
(ii) An NGDC with at least 100,000 residential customers.
Residential high-use electric baseload customer—A residential customer using electric service from the EDC for purposes other than space-heating, space-cooling or water-heating.
Residential space-heating or space-cooling customer—A residential customer using the electric or natural gas service provided by the public utility as the primary heating source or primary cooling source for the dwelling.
Residential water-heating customer—A residential customer using the electric or natural gas service provided by the public utility to provide water-heating as the primary heating source for the dwelling.
Special needs customer—A customer with household income between 151% and 200% of the FPIG who meets additional criteria specified in a public utility’s approved USECP. The additional criteria may include requiring that one or more household members meet any of the following criteria:
(iii) Are under a protection from abuse order or other court order that contains clear evidence of domestic violence.
USAC—Universal service advisory committee—A group of stakeholders who meet at least semiannually, receive universal service program updates and provide feedback on proposed public utility USECP initiatives.
USECP—Universal service and energy conservation plan—A documented and Commission-approved plan assessing the need for assistance in a public utility’s service territory and describing the benefits, policies, procedures and budgets related to the public utility’s universal service and energy conservation programs under § § 54.74(b) and 62.4(b) (relating to universal service and energy conservation plans).
Universal service programs—The policies, protections and services that a public utility is required to offer under 66 Pa.C.S. § § 2203(8) and 2804(9) (relating to standards for restructuring of natural gas utility industry; and standards for restructuring of electric industry) to help low-income customers maintain public utility service and conserve energy. This term is synonymous with ‘‘universal service and energy conservation programs’’ and includes payment assistance programs, termination of service protections, energy usage reduction programs and consumer education programs. LIURP, CAP, CARES and hardship fund are the four mandatory universal service program components of a public utility’s USECP; other programs are permissible if approved in a Commission proceeding.
Weatherization—The process of modifying a dwelling to reduce energy consumption and improve energy efficiency.
This section cited in 52 Pa. Code § 58.1 (relating to statement of purpose); 52 Pa. Code § 58.4 (relating to LIURP budgets); 52 Pa. Code § 58.5 (relating to administrative costs); 52 Pa. Code § 58.7 (relating to integration); and 52 Pa. Code § 58.8 (relating to tenant household eligibility).