BEECHER - NAWC

Water ComparedGlossarymay apply to have an amount equal to thesubscriber line charge deducted from theirmonthly bills. Also used generically todesignate special rate plans offering verybasic utility service at low rates to eligiblecustomers. May also be called "baseline"rates.Local access and transport area(LATA). Contiguous local exchange areasthat include every point served by a localexchange telephone company within anexisting community of interest and thatserve as the dividing line for the allocationof assets and liabilities between longdistancecompanies and local exchangecompanies (LECs).Local distribution company. A naturalgas utility that generally buys gas from apipeline company to sell to end users.Local exchange carrier. Local telephonecompany.Local exchange carrier (LEC).Company that offers local telephoneservice; it also provides access to itsnetwork to long-distance companies andother legitimate parties.Market-based carrier. Prices fixed in thefree market under conditions of purecompetition.Market center. According to PERC, anareas where pipelines interconnection andthere is a reasonable potential fordeveloping a market institution thatfacilitates the free interchange of gas.(IURC Regflex report)Market power. The presence of acompetitor in a marketplace, oftenmeasured by share of sales revenues.Market retention rates. Special discountrates offered to large users to keep themfrom leaving the system.Natural Gas Policy Act of 1938.Provides for the regulation of interstatesales for resale and transportation of gas.In 1954, the Supreme Court interpreted theNGA to cover interstate wellhead sales ofgas.Network industry. An industry in whichproviders are highly interconnected acrossexpansive geographic areas.Nondiscrimination. In general usage,reasonably equal treatment for all.N ondominant carrier. Service providerthat does not dominate its particularmarket. In many states, a nondominantcarrier is subject to less stringentregulation than the dominant carrier.Obligation to serve. The legal obligationto provide service on a nondiscriminatorybasis within a service territory.Onsystem sales. Natural gas sales tocustomers where the delivery point is apoint on, or directly interconnected with, atransmission, storage, and/or distributionsystem operating by a reporting company.(Energy Information Administration)Open access same-time informationsystems (OASIS). Proposed system forinforming all competitors of the availablecapacity of electricity transmission lines.(Energy Information Administration)Open network architecture.Telecommunications network designallowing more freedom of access.NAWC 159September 1998