Ohio Commercial Electricity Contract Glossary (A–Z)
How to use this glossary
Each definition is written to stand on its own, with the Ohio-specific meaning where it differs from general usage. Terms link to deeper guides where one exists.
A–C
Aggregation (governmental). A program in which a city, township or county chooses a supplier for residents and small businesses; eligible accounts are enrolled unless they opt out. Accounts using 700,000 kWh a year or less can be auto-enrolled; larger (mercantile) accounts join only by opting in. See aggregation for businesses.
All-in price. A generation price that includes energy, capacity, ancillary services and supplier costs. Always confirm what "all-in" excludes (often transmission or new charges).
Ancillary services. Grid services such as reserves and frequency regulation that PJM buys to keep the system stable; usually bundled into supplier prices.
Bandwidth (swing). The range of usage (for example ±10% of contracted volume) you can consume at the contract price before true-up charges apply.
Base Residual Auction (BRA). PJM's annual capacity auction. Recent results: $269.92/MW-day (2025/26), $329.17 (2026/27), $333.44 (2027/28), $325.00 (2028/29).
Billing demand. The kW figure your utility bills for demand charges — usually your highest 15- or 30-minute average in the month, possibly adjusted by a ratchet or power factor. See demand charges.
Block and index. A product that fixes the price for a block of baseload and buys remaining usage at a market index.
Broker (power broker). A PUCO-certified intermediary that obtains supplier offers for customers; compensation is usually embedded in the supplier's price. See broker fees.
Capacity. Payment to generators for being available at peak, set by PJM's BRA and allocated to you through your capacity tag.
Capacity tag (PLC, peak load contribution). Your share of the grid's summer peak, set from your load during PJM's peak hours the prior summer; it resets each June 1. See capacity tags.
Change-in-law clause. Contract language letting a supplier pass through costs from new laws or market rules. Read how broadly it's written.
CRES. Competitive Retail Electric Service — Ohio's legal term for electricity sold by certified suppliers, brokers and aggregators.
D–L
Delivery charges. Distribution and transmission charges from your utility; not shoppable.
Demand (kW). The rate of electricity use at a moment; distinct from energy (kWh).
Early termination fee (ETF). What you owe if you leave a contract early; often a formula based on remaining volume and market price changes.
EDU (electric distribution utility). Ohio's six investor-owned utilities: AEP Ohio, Duke Energy Ohio, AES Ohio, Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company and Toledo Edison.
Fixed price. A generation price that doesn't change during the term (subject to pass-through clauses).
Governmental aggregator. A community certified by PUCO to run an aggregation program.
Index price. A price tied to a published market measure (for example PJM day-ahead or real-time prices) plus an adder.
kWh tax. Ohio's kilowatt-hour excise tax, charged per kWh in monthly tiers; Ohio has no sales tax on electricity.
Letter of authorization (LOA). Your written permission for a broker or supplier to obtain your usage data from the utility.
Load factor. Average demand divided by peak demand; higher load factors cost less per kWh to serve.
M–R
Material change clause. Lets a supplier reprice or terminate if your usage changes substantially (for example a closure or expansion).
Mercantile customer. In Ohio, a commercial or industrial customer using more than 700,000 kWh a year, or part of a multi-state national account.
Net metering. Crediting on-site generation against your usage; in Ohio, systems may be sized up to 120% of your usage at interconnection.
NSPL (network service peak load). Your transmission tag, used by some utilities to allocate transmission costs; set from your load during the zone's annual peak.
Pass-through. A cost billed to you at actual cost rather than fixed in your price (capacity, transmission, new market charges).
Price to compare (PTC). The utility's default generation price you'd pay without a supplier. See price to compare by utility.
PUCO. Public Utilities Commission of Ohio — regulates utilities and certifies suppliers, brokers and aggregators.
Ratchet. A tariff rule that keeps billing demand at a percentage of a recent high peak.
Rescission period. For residential and small commercial customers, 7 days from the postmark of the utility's switch-confirmation letter to cancel.
S–Z
SSO (Standard Service Offer). The utility's default generation service, priced through competitive auctions; since HB 15 (2025) it must come from competitive bidding.
Swing. See bandwidth.
Transmission charges. Costs of the high-voltage grid, billed by your utility (and sometimes passed through by suppliers).
True-up. A later adjustment that reconciles estimated charges or volumes with actuals.
Variable price. A generation price that changes monthly; after a fixed contract ends, many contracts roll to variable unless you act.