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The list below contains industry-specific terms commonly used by Nicor Gas and the natural gas industry as a whole.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W XYZ
Account agent
A legal representative of buyers, sellers or shippers of natural gas in negotiation or operations of contractual agreements.
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ)
The officer designated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to conduct the proceedings in a rate or other tariff filing.
Alternate Fuels
Other fuels that can be substituted for the fuel in use. In the case of natural gas, the most common alternative fuels are distillate fuel oils, residual fuel oils, coal and wood.
Aquifer Storage
The storage of gas underground in porous and permeable rock stratum, the pore space of which was originally filled with water and in which the stored gas is confined by suitable structure, permeability barriers, and hydrostatic water pressure. Also see STORAGE, UNDERGROUND.
Automatic Meter Reading (AMR)
"Real time" monitoring of natural gas quantities and characteristics as it passes through a specific location.
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Balancing
Making receipts and deliveries of gas into or withdrawals from a company equal. Balancing may be accomplished daily, monthly or seasonally, with penalties generally assessed for excessive imbalance.
Barometer
Instrument used for measuring atmospheric pressure.
Barrel (Oil)
A volumetric unit of measurement equivalent to 42 U.S. gallons, 9,702 cubic inches, 5.6146 cubic feet, 34.9722 Canadian Imperial gallons, 158.99 liters, or .15899 cubic meters. It is the unit of measurement commonly used to measure oil production and oil reserves within the U.S.
Base Gas (Also called "Bottom Gas")
The gas required in a storage reservoir to provide the pressure to cycle the normal working storage volume.
Billing Cycle
The regular, periodic interval used by a utility for reading the meters of customers for billing purposes.
Blow Down
The process of reducing gas pressures by means of releasing such pressures to atmosphere.
British Thermal Unit (Btu)
The quantity of heat necessary to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit from 58.5 to 59.5 degrees Fahrenheit under standard pressure of 30 inches of mercury at or near its point of maximum density. One Btu equals 252 calories, (gram), 778 foot-pounds, 1,055 joules or 0.293 watt hours.
Btu Factor
This factor gives the actual heat value of the gas we supply. To determine the amount of therms billed, we multiply gas usage by the Btu factor. The Btu factor may vary from month to month.
Budget Plan
A Nicor Gas payment option where customers' bills are spread over a 12-month period, providing some assurance of knowing what their gas bills will be each month. In summer, Budget Plan payments are higher to help build a credit balance to offset higher winter bills. Every four months, customers' Budget Plan payments are adjusted based on their current account balance and Nicor Gas' estimates of future natural gas prices.
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Commodity
The natural gas you use, not including any services provided by the supplier or utility.
Customer Select®
Customer Select® allows customers to choose a natural gas supplier other than Nicor Gas. By participating, customers choose their rates and services, which could save them money.
Deferred Payment Arrangement (DPA)
The current amount owed by a customer divided across a future time period, usually four months. During each month of that time period, the customer pays an equal portion of the amount owed, plus current monthly balance and interest on outstanding balance.
Delivery Charges
Charges that cover the operating and distribution costs of the utility. Also called distribution charges.
Deregulation
The act of ending federal government control over the wellhead price of new natural gas sold in interstate commerce. Also termed "decontrol".
Estimated Bill
A bill for service not based on meter readings for the period being billed but based on calculations of how much gas a customer used during a particular period of time utilizing the gas consumption history of that customer and temperatures during the period.
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Fixed Price
A constant price for natural gas (either per therm or per bill) that is maintained over the entire life of a contract. Changes in the market price of natural gas will not affect the price you pay.
Gas Cap
A layer of free gas on top of the oil zone in an underground structure or reservoir.
Gas Generator
The section of a gas-turbine that provides the high temperature gases needed to drive the power turbine.
Joint Utility Locating Information for Excavators (JULIE)
JULIE is a not-for-profit corporation that provides contractors, excavators, homeowners, and others who may be disturbing the earth, with a free service through a single toll-free phone number (811) to call for the locating and marking of underground utility facilities. JULIE services the entire state of Illinois, except the city limits of Chicago.
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Leak Clamp
A clamp used to press and hold tight a gasket against a leaking section of pipe or pipe joint to seal the leak.
Leak Detector
A device for identifying and locating a gas leak.
Leased Storage
Natural gas storage facilities owned and controlled by a storage operator, quite often the interstate pipeline's affiliate. Capacity within these facilities is leased by customers, such as local distribution companies (LDCs), who use the stored gas during cold weather. Leased storage gas is returned to the customer either in the market area (close to the recipient) or supply area (close to production).
LIFO (Last-in, First out)
Method of inventory valuation in which the earliest acquired inventory is assumed to be still on hand; the most recently acquired is assumed to be sold first.
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
Natural gas which has been liquefied by reducing its temperature to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit at atmospheric pressure. It remains a liquid at -116 degrees Fahrenheit and 673 psig. In volume, it occupies 1/600 of that of the vapor at standard conditions.
Local Distribution Company (LDC)
Gas Company which obtains the major portion of its gas operating revenues from the operation of a retail gas distribution system, and which operates no transmission system other than incidental connections within its own system or to the system of another company. For purposes of A.G.A. statistics, a distribution company obtains at least 90 percent of its gas operating revenues from sales to ultimate customers, and classifies at least 90 percent of mains (other than service pipe) as distribution.
Local Storage
The storage facilities, other than underground storage, that are an integral part of a distribution system, i.e., on the distribution side of the city gate, whether for manufactured, mixed, natural, liquefied petroleum or liquefied natural gases.
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Manufactured Gas
A gas obtained by destructive distillation of coal, or by the thermal decomposition of oil, or by the reaction of steam passing through a bed of heated coal or coke, or catalyst beds. Examples are coal gases, coke oven gases, producer gas, blast furnace gas, blue (water) gas, and carbureted water gas. Btu content varies widely.
Market-Based (Also called "Index Pricing")
An offer for natural gas at a price that is tied to one or more natural gas market benchmarks or indicators. Some of these are Natural Gas Intelligence, Gas Daily and NYMEX. This type of pricing generally fluctuates and follows the current market price of gas over the life of the contract.
Maximum Day Sendout
The greatest actual total gas sendout occurring in a specified 24-hour period.
Minimum Day Sendout
The smallest actual total gas sendout occurring in a specified 24-hour period.
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National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC)
A voluntary organization composed of federal and state regulatory commissioners who have jurisdiction over transportation agencies and public utilities.
National Fuel Gas Code
A code that provides general criteria for the installation and operation of gas piping and gas equipment on consumers' premises. The code is sponsored by both the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA-54) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI Z223.1).
Natural Gas
A naturally occurring mixture of hydrocarbon and nonhydrocarbon gases found in porous geologic formations beneath the earth's surface, often in association with petroleum. The principal constituent is methane.
New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX)
NYMEX is where contracts for commodities, including natural gas, are traded. At the NYMEX, natural gas futures and options contracts are traded which establish future pricing directions. Suppliers may use the NYMEX to establish their pricing offers.
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Residential Base Load
The gas consumed by clothes dryers, water heaters, ranges and cooling. Base load does not vary with heating degree-days.
Sales and Transportation Service
Under traditional sales service agreements, transmission and distribution companies purchase gas from suppliers, transport the gas to customers and sell it to them. Under transportation service agreements, transmission and distribution companies transport gas supplies for customers who have purchased the gas directly from other parties.
Service
The pipe which carries gas from the main to the customer's meter.
Single Billing
A service provided by either Nicor Gas or a supplier which offers one bill containing charges from both Nicor Gas and the supplier.
Supplier (Also known as a "Marketer")
A company other than the local utility that supplies natural gas to customers.
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Tariff
A gas company schedule detailing the terms, conditions and rate information applicable to various types of natural gas service. This document is filed with and approved by FERC or a state regulatory body.
Tariff Gas
Gas purchased by gas distributors from gas pipelines. The term is usually used by natural gas distributors to distinguish gas they purchased from pipelines from gas they purchased directly from producers and had transported.
Therm
The basic unit for measuring natural gas use. One therm is equal to 100,000 British thermal units (Btu). To determine the amount of therms, we multiply the customer's gas use by the Btu factor. This factor gives the actual heat value of the gas we supply. The Btu factor may vary from month to month; the customer's bill will show the actual factor being used.
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Underground Storage
The utilization of subsurface facilities for storing gas which has been transferred from its original location for the primary purposes of load balancing. The facilities are usually natural geological reservoirs such as depleted oil or gas fields or water-bearing sands sealed on the top by an impermeable cap rock. The facilities may be man-made or natural caverns.
Utility Affiliate
A supplier/marketer that is owned all or in part by the same corporation that owns the local utility.
Weatherization
The reduction of air infiltration by methods such as caulking and weather stripping.
Wellhead
The assembly of fittings, valves, and controls located at the surface and connected to the flow lines, tubing, and casing of the well so as to control the flow from the reservoir.
Wellhead Price
The cost of gas as it comes from the well excluding cleaning, compression, transportation, and distribution charges.
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