866-203-4284
Natural Gas Glossary
The definitions below are sourced from the Vectren’s approved Tariffs for Gas Service in Indiana, and supplemented with select other definitions sourced from the US Energy Information Administration website.
*Sources:
US Energy Information Administration
Vectren Energy Delivery of Indiana, Inc. (Vectren South) Tariff for Gas Service
Consumption – Natural gas used as lease fuel, plant fuel, for use by pipeline and distribution systems and by end-users (including residential, commercial, industrial, electric power and vehicle fuel).
Curtailment – The interruption or limitation of Gas Service available to the Customer pursuant to the Company’s Curtailment Procedures.
Curtailment Period – The period of time, as specified by the Company, during which Gas Service is subject to Curtailment.
Curtailment Procedures – Rule 24 of the Company’s General Terms and Conditions.
Customer – Any individual, partnership, association, firm, public or private corporation or any other entity receiving Gas Service provided by the Company with its consent. A Customer shall include any person receiving Gas Service from the Company irrespective of whether that person is the individual in whose name the Gas Service is being received.
Customer-Delivered Gas – Gas delivered by the Customer, or on the Customer’s behalf, to Company’s distribution system.
Electric Power Consumption – Gas used as fuel in the electric power sector.
Gas Cost Adjustment - Gas cost recovery process approved for the Company through various Commission orders, including the Commission’s generic orders in Cause No. 37091.
Gas Service – The availability of natural gas or a mixture of natural gas and other compatible gases at the Company’s point of delivery to the Customer, irrespective of whether any such gas is actually consumed.
Group 1 – The Company's designation for a Customer served by a meter with a rated capacity of 450 Cfh or less.
Group 2 – The Company's designation for a Customer served by a meter with a rated capacity of greater than 450 Cfh and less than 5000 Cfh.
Group 3 – The Company's designation for a Customer served by a meter with a rated capacity of 5000 Cfh or greater.
Heating Degree-Day – A standard measure of the coldness of the temperatures experienced, based on the extent to which the daily mean temperature falls below a reference temperature of 65° Fahrenheit.
Industrial Customer – A Customer primarily engaged in a process that creates or changes raw or unfinished materials into another form or product.
Industrial Consumption – Natural gas used for heat, power or chemical feedstock by manufacturing establishments or those engaged in mining or other mineral extraction as well as consumers in agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Also included in industrial consumption are natural gas volumes used in the generation of electricity by other than regulated electric utilities.
Interruptible Service – Gas Sales Service subject to Curtailment and requiring the Customer to maintain Alternative Fuel capability.
Maximum Daily Usage – A Customer’s maximum actual gas usage or the Company’s estimate of the Customer’s maximum gas usage for any 24-hour period.
MCF – One thousand cubic feet.
Natural Gas –A naturally occurring mixture of hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon gases found in porous geological formations beneath the earth's surface, often in association with petroleum. The principal constituent is methane.
Natural Gas Marketer – A company that arranges purchases and sales of natural gas. The company generally does not own physical assets used in the supply of natural gas, so it operates without taking possession of the gas it owns. A marketer may be an affiliate of another company, such as a local distribution company, natural gas pipeline, or producer, but it operations independently of other segments of the company. Marketers serve as alternative suppliers to end-users of natural gas, which is delivered by a local distribution company.
Non-Gas Cost Revenue – Revenue received by the Company from the Customer, excluding gas costs such as pipeline storage and transportation costs, commodity gas costs, and other gas costs recovered through the Gas Cost Adjustment.
Non-Residential Customer – Any Customer that is not a Residential Customer.
Operational Flow Order (OFO) – An order issued by the Company via its EBB, fax machine, or telephone directing Pool Operator, School Supplier or Transportation Customer to deliver specific quantities of gas via specific pipelines.
Operating System – Any portion of the Company’s distribution system for which gas deliveries and gas demands must be balanced separately from other portions of the distribution system, due to operational and contractual limitations.
Peak Design Day Demand – The then-effective forecasted peak design day usage of a Customer Pool as calculated and communicated by the Company.
Pipeline – A continuous pipe conduit, complete with such equipment as valves, compressor stations, communications systems, and meters, for transporting natural and/or supplemental gas from one point to another, usually from a point in or beyond the producing field or processing plant to another pipeline or to points of utilization. Also refers to a company operating such facilities.
Pipeline Fuel – Gas consumed in the operation of pipelines, primarily in compressors.
Plant Fuel – Natural gas used as fuel in natural gas processing plants.
