Best Practice Guide

Glossary

Introduction

Planning an Energy Program

Funding and Approval

Lighting

Building Envelope

Central HVAC System

Distributed Generation

Demand Response

Commissioning

Procurement Policy

Water Use

Education

Energy Efficiency in Telecommuting

Resources and Appendices

Lessons Learned

Best Practice Guide Glossary

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UTILITY Return to list of terms

A regulated entity that exhibits the characteristics of a natural monopoly. For the purposes of electric industry restructuring, "utility" refers to the regulated, vertically-integrated electric company. "Transmission utility" refers to the regulated owner/operator of the transmission system only. "Distribution utility" refers to the regulated owner/operator of the distribution system that serves retail customers.

Source: California Energy Commission