N.J. Admin. Code § 14:4-3.2

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 19, October 7, 2024
Section 14:4-3.2 - Definitions

The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Additional definitions that apply to this subchapter can be found at 14:3-1.1 and 14:4-1.2.

"Affiliate" means a "related competitive business segment of an electric public utility or a related competitive business segment of a gas public utility" or a "related competitive business segment of a public utility holding company" as defined in this section and in the Act.

"Affiliated" means related to an electric or gas public utility as an affiliate thereof.

"Category" means a group of products and/or services that use the same type of electric and/or gas public utility assets or capacity. For example, "leases of land under utility transmission lines" or "use of a utility repair shop for third party equipment repair" would each constitute a separate product and/or service category.

"Competitive service" means any services, goods, or products offered by an electric public utility or a gas public utility that the Board has already determined or that the Board shall in the future determine to be competitive pursuant to section 8 or section 10 of the Act or that is not regulated by the Board.

"Cross-subsidization" means the offering of a competitive product and/or service by an electric and/or gas public utility, or the offering of a product and/or service by an affiliate, which relies in whole or in part on the utilization of utility employees, equipment or other assets, and for which full compensation (via cost allocations or direct payment), as determined by the Board, has not been provided for the use of such electric and/or gas public utility assets, resulting in the inappropriate transfer of benefits from the utility ratepayers to the competitive product and/or service or affiliate.

"Dth" means decatherms or ten therms.

"EBB" means an electric and/or gas public utility's electronic bulletin board.

"Existing products and/or services" means those products and/or services, which an electric and/or gas public utility was offering prior to January 1, 1993, or that have been approved by the Board prior to February 9, 1999.

"Fully allocated cost" means an allocation of the direct, indirect and other economic costs of all equipment, vehicles, labor, related fringe benefits and overheads, real estate, furniture, fixtures and other personality and administration utilized, and other assets utilized and costs incurred, directly or indirectly in providing competitive services.

"Functional separation" means the formation of a separate business unit by an electric or gas public utility for purposes of offering competitive services permitted by 48:3-55(f) or 58(b), which separate business unit shall be a related competitive business segment of an electric public utility or gas public utility as defined in this section and in the Act.

"Individual proprietary information" means a customer's name, address, telephone number, energy usage and payment history and such other information as the Board, by order, may determine.

"Joint purchases" means purchases made by a parent or holding company or affiliate thereof for use by one or more affiliates, the fully allocated costs of which are allocated to be paid proportionally by the affiliates, based upon utilization.

"Joint purchases allowed" means purchases not associated with merchant functions, examples of which would be joint purchases of office supplies and telephone services.

"Joint purchases not allowed" means purchases associated with merchant functions, examples of which would be gas and electric purchasing for resale, purchasing of gas transportation and storage capacity, purchasing of electric transmission, systems operations, and marketing.

"Merchant functions" means the marketing and/or the provision of electric generation service and/or gas supply service to wholesale or retail customers, as opposed to the marketing and/or provision of transmission and distribution services, by an electric and/or gas public utility.

"Public posting" means a posting on an electric and/or gas public utility's EBB, website or other industry recognized and publicly accessible electronic or print medium.

"Public utility holding company" or "PUHC" means:

1. Any company that, directly or indirectly, owns, controls, or holds with power to vote, 10 percent or more of the outstanding voting securities of an electric public utility or a gas public utility or of a company that is a public utility holding company by virtue of this definition, unless the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), or its successor, by order, declares such company not to be a public utility holding company under Title XII, Subtitle F of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (known as the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005), Pub. L. No. 109-58, §§ 1261 -77, 42 U.S.C. §§ 15801 et seq. (2005), or its successor; or

2. Any person that the FERC, or its successor, determines, after notice and opportunity for hearing, directly or indirectly, to exercise, either alone or pursuant to an arrangement or understanding with one or more other persons, such a controlling influence over the management or policies of an electric public utility or a gas public utility or public utility holding company as to make it necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors or consumers that such person be subject to the obligations, duties, and liabilities imposed in the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 or its successor.

"Related competitive business segment of an electric public utility or gas public utility" means any business venture of an electric public utility or gas public utility including, but not limited to, functionally separate business units, joint ventures, and partnerships, that offers to provide or provides competitive services.

"Related competitive business segment of a public utility holding company" means any business venture of a public utility holding company, including, but not limited to, functionally separate business units, joint ventures, and partnerships and subsidiaries, that offers to provide or provides competitive services, but does not include any related competitive business segments of an electric public utility or gas public utility.

"Services that may not be shared" means those services that involve merchant functions, including, by way of example: hedging and financial derivatives and arbitrage services, gas and/or electric purchasing for resale, purchasing of gas transportation and storage capacity, purchasing of electric transmission, system operations, and marketing.

"Shared services" means administrative and support services that do not involve merchant functions, including by way of example: payroll, taxes, shareholder services, insurance, financial reporting, financial planning and analysis, corporate accounting, corporate security, human resources (compensation, benefits, employment policies), employee records, regulatory affairs, lobbying, legal, and pension management.

"Short term" means a transaction of 31 days or less.

"Structural separation" means the formation of a related competitive business segment of a public utility holding company.

N.J. Admin. Code § 14:4-3.2

Amended by R.2013 d.067, effective 4/15/2013.
See: 44 N.J.R. 1589(a), 45 N.J.R. 934(b).
In the introductory paragraph, deleted "in N.J.A.C." preceding "14:4-1.2"; and in definition "Existing products and/or services", deleted ", or an electric and or gas public utility is offering on May 19, 2008" from the end.