{"operation":"document","citation":"4 CCR 723-4 Rule 4001","title":"Definitions","source_type":"regulation","agency":"Colorado Public Utilities Commission","status":"current","official":true,"published_on":null,"effective_on":null,"summary":"The following definitions apply throughout this Part 4, except where a specific rule or statute provides otherwise. In addition to the definitions here, the definitions found in the Public Utilities Law and Part 1 apply to these rules. In the event of a conflict between these definitions and a statu","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/co-ccr-4-723-4-4001.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/co-ccr-4-723-4-4001.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/co-ccr-4-723-4-4001","source_url":"https://www.sos.state.co.us/CCR/DisplayRule.do?action=ruleinfo&ruleId=2260&deptID=18&agencyID=96&deptName=Department%20of%20Regulatory%20Agencies&agencyName=Public%20Utilities%20Commission&seriesNum=4%20CCR%20723-4","body":"The following definitions apply throughout this Part 4, except where a specific rule or\nstatute provides otherwise. In addition to the definitions here, the definitions found in the\nPublic Utilities Law and Part 1 apply to these rules. In the event of a conflict between\nthese definitions and a statutory definition, the statutory definition shall apply. In the\nevent of a conflict between these definitions and a definition in Part 1, these definitions\nshall apply.\n(a) “Advanced metering infrastructure” means an integrated system of smart electric\nor gas utility meters and communication networks that enables two-way\ncommunication between an electric or gas utility’s data systems and the meter’s\ninternet protocol address and allows the utility to measure usage and/or connect\nor disconnect services remotely.\n(b) “Affiliate” of a utility means a subsidiary of a utility, a parent corporation of a\nutility, a joint venture organized as a separate corporation or partnership to the\nextent of the individual utility’s involvement with the joint venture, a subsidiary of\na parent corporation of a utility or where the utility or the parent corporation has a\ncontrolling interest over an entity.\n(c) “Aggregated data” means customer data, alone or in combination with non-\ncustomer data, resulting from processing (e.g., average of a group of customers)\nor a compilation of customer data of one or more customers from which personal\ninformation has been removed.\n(d) “Applicant for service” means a person who applies for utility service and who\neither has taken no previous utility service from that utility or has not taken utility\nservice from that utility within the most recent 30 days.\n(e) “Air Pollution Control Division” means the Air Pollution Control Division of the\nColorado Department of Public Health and Environment established by § 25-1-\n102(2)(a), C.R.S.\n(f) “Air Quality Control Commission” means the decision-making body within the\nColorado Department of Public Health and Environment established by § 25-7-\n104, C.R.S., to oversee and promulgate the rules to administer Colorado’s air\nquality programs.\n(g) “Base rate” means charges used to recover costs of utility infrastructure and\noperations, including a return on capital investment, not otherwise recovered\nthrough a utility rate adjustment mechanism.\n(h) “Basis Point” means one-hundredth of a percentage point (100 basis points = 1\npercent).\n\n(i) “Benefit of service” means the use of utility service by each person of legal age\nwho resides at a premises to which service is delivered and who is not registered\nwith the utility as the customer of record.\n(j) \"Biomethane\" means:\n(I) a mixture of carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons released from the biological\ndecomposition of organic materials that is primarily methane and provides\na net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions; and\n(II) includes biomethane recovered from manure management systems or\nanaerobic digesters that has been processed to meet pipeline quality gas\nstandards.\n(k) \"Commission\" means the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.\n(l) \"Contracted agent\" means any person that has contracted with a utility in\ncompliance with rule 4030 to assist in the provision of regulated utility services\n(e.g., an affiliate or vendor).\n(m) “Craft labor certification” means all documentation and certification of payroll\nrequired for an Energy Sector Public Works project.\n(n) \"Cubic foot\" means, as the context requires.\n(I) At Local Pressure Conditions. For the purpose of measuring gas to a\ncustomer at local pressure conditions, a cubic foot is that amount of gas\nwhich occupies a volume of one cubic foot under the conditions existing in\nthe customer’s meter as and where installed. When gas is metered at a\npressure in excess of eight inches of water column gauge pressure, a\nsuitable correction factor shall be applied to provide for measurement of\ngas as if delivered and metered at a pressure of six inches of water\ncolumn gauge pressure. A utility may also apply appropriate factors to\ncorrect local pressure measurement to standard conditions.\n(II) At Standard Conditions. For all other purposes, including testing gas, a\nstandard cubic foot is that amount of gas at standard conditions which\noccupies a volume of one cubic foot.\n(o) \"Curtailment\" means the inability of a transportation customer or a sales\ncustomer to receive gas due to a shortage of gas supply.\n\n(p) \"Customer\" means any person who is currently receiving utility service. Any\nperson who moves within a utility’s service territory and obtains utility service at a\nnew location within 30 days shall be considered a \"customer.\" Unless stated in a\nparticular rule, \"customer\" applies to any class of customer as defined by the\nCommission or by utility tariff.\n(q) \"Customer data\" means customer specific information, excluding personal\ninformation as defined in paragraph 1004(x), that is:\n(I) collected from the gas meter by the utility and stored in its data systems;\n(II) combined with customer-specific energy usage information on bills issued\nto the customer for regulated utility service when not publicly or lawfully\navailable to the general public; or\n(III) about the customer’s participation in regulated utility programs, such as\nrenewable energy, demand-side management, load management, or\nenergy efficiency programs.\n(r) \"Dekatherm\" (Dth) means a measurement of gas commodity heat content. One\nDekatherm is the energy equivalent of 1,000,000 British Thermal Units (1\nMMBtu).\n(s) \"Dedicated recovered methane pipeline\" means a conveyance of recovered\nmethane that is not a part of a common carrier pipeline system, and which\nconveys recovered methane from where it is generated to a common carrier\npipeline or to the end user in Colorado for which the recovered methane was\nproduced so long as the recovered methane replaces geologic gas supplied by a\ngas distribution utility or small gas distribution utility.\n(t) \"Design peak demand\" refers to the maximum gas flow rate projected for a utility\nsystem, or a portion thereof, which is utilized by a utility for gas infrastructure\ncapacity planning.\n(u) \"Disproportionately impacted community\" means a geographic area defined\npursuant to § 40-2-108(3)(d), C.R.S., and as may be further modified by\nCommission rule or order. Mapping of such geographic areas shall be conducted\nin accordance with the best available mapping tool developed by the Colorado\nDepartment of Public Health and Environment, until such time as a different\npractice is adopted by Commission rule or order.\n(v) \"Distribution system\" means the utility-owned piping and associated facilities\nused to deliver gas to customers, excluding facilities owned by a utility that are\nclassified on the books and records of the utility as production, storage, or\ntransmission facilities.\n\n(w) \"Emergency or safety event or circumstance\" means a manmade or natural\nemergency event or safety circumstance:\n(I) that prevents utility staff from being able to safely travel to or work at a\ncustomer's residence or place of business for purposes of reconnecting or\nmaking necessary repairs prior to reconnecting utility service; or\n(II) for which a utility has dispatched utility staff members to help respond to\nthe emergency or safety event or circumstance and, due to the timing or\nnumber of utility staff dispatched, the utility lacks sufficient trained staff to\nreconnect or make necessary repairs prior to reconnecting utility service at\na customer's residence or place of business; and\n(III) includes a severe weather event that one or more reputable weather\nforecasting sources forecasts to occur in the following twenty-four hours\nand that is more likely than not to result in dangerous travel or on-site\noutdoor or indoor work conditions for individuals in the path of the weather\nevent.\n(x) \"Energy assistance organization\" means the nonprofit corporation established for\nlow-income energy assistance pursuant to § 40-8.5-104, C.R.S.\n(y) “Energy Sector Public Works (ESPW) project” is a project pursuant to § 24-92-\n301, C.R.S., et seq., that for purposes of these rules:\n(I) has the purpose of transmitting or distributing natural gas to provide\nenergy to Colorado individual consumers and businesses;\n(II) is built by or for a utility;\n(III) has a total project cost of $1,000,000 or greater, of which the utility will\nrequest Commission approval for ratepayers to pay at least $500,000;\n(IV) is included for approval through any proceeding conducted by the\nCommission as part of a request for a certificate of public convenience\nand necessity pursuant to § 40-5-101, C.R.S., et seq. and the cost\nthresholds set forth in rule 4102; and\n(V) includes utility gas transmission and distribution, geothermal systems or\nthermal networks, and hydrogen-related infrastructure construction\nprojects.\n\n(z) \"Gas\" means natural or geological gas; hydrogen, or recovered methane, or any\nmixture thereof transported by a common carrier or dedicated pipeline;\nflammable gas; manufactured gas; petroleum or other hydrocarbon gases\nincluding propane; or any mixture of gases injected into a pipeline and\ntransmitted, distributed, or furnished by any utility.\n(aa) \"Income-qualified utility customer\" or \"low-income customer\" is a customer\nmeeting the requirements of § 40-3-106(1)(d)(II), C.R.S.\n(bb) \"Informal complaint\" means an informal complaint as defined and discussed in\nthe Commission’s Rules Regulating Practice and Procedure, 4 CCR 723-1.\n(cc) \"Interruption\" means a utility’s inability to provide transportation to a\ntransportation customer, or its inability to serve a sales customer, due to\nconstraints on the utility’s pipeline system.\n(dd) \"Intrastate transmission pipeline\" or \"ITP\" means generally any person that\nprovides gas transportation service for compensation to or for another person in\nthe State of Colorado using transmission facilities rather than distribution facilities\nand is exempt from FERC jurisdiction.\n(ee) \"Local distribution company\" (LDC) means any person, other than an interstate\npipeline or an intrastate transmission pipeline, engaged in the sale and\ndistribution of gas for end-user consumption. A LDC may also perform\ntransportation services for its end-use customers, for another LDC or its end-use\ncustomers, as authorized under its effective Colorado jurisdictional tariffs.\n(ff) \"Local government\" means any Colorado county, municipality, city and county,\nhome rule city or town, home rule city and county, or city or town operating under\na territorial charter.\n(gg) \"Local office\" means any Colorado office operated by a utility at which persons\nmay make requests to establish or to discontinue utility service. If the utility does\nnot operate an office in Colorado, \"local office\" means any office operated by a\nutility at which persons may make requests to establish or to discontinue utility\nservice in Colorado.\n(hh) \"Mandatory relocation\" means a project to relocate the utility’s gas infrastructure\nas required by a federal, tribal, state, county, or local governmental body.\n(ii) \"Main\" means a distribution line that serves, or is designed to serve, as a\ncommon source of supply for more than one service lateral.\n(jj) \"Mcf\" means 1,000 standard cubic feet.\n(kk) \"MMBtu\" means 1,000,000 British Thermal Units, or one Dekatherm.\n\n(ll) \"Natural gas\" or \"geological gas\" means methane or other hydrocarbons that\noccur underground without human intervention and may be used as fuel.\n(mm) \"Non-pipeline alternative\" means programs, equipment, or actions that avoid,\nreduce, or delay the need for investment in certain types of new gas\ninfrastructure and may include energy efficiency, demand response, and\nbeneficial electrification.\n(nn) \"Non-standard customer data\" means all customer data that are not standard\ncustomer data.\n(oo) \"Past due\" means the point at which a utility can affect a customer’s account for\nregulated service due to non-payment of charges for regulated service.\n(pp) \"Pipeline system\" means the utility-owned piping and associated facilities used in\nthe transmission or distribution of gas.\n(qq) \"Principal place of business\" means the place, in or out of the State of Colorado,\nwhere the executive or managing principals who directly oversee the utility's\noperations in Colorado are located.\n(rr) \"Pressure district\" means a localized area within a utility’s service territory\nwhereby an established minimum and maximum pressure range is intended to\nbe maintained and is distinct from neighboring regions.\n(ss) “Project labor agreement,” pursuant to § 24-92-303(9), C.R.S., means a pre-hire\ncollective bargaining agreement between a lead contractor and construction\nlabor organization(s) covering the affected trades necessary to perform work on\na project that establishes the terms and conditions of employment of the\nconstruction workforce and includes provisions that:\n(I) set forth effective, immediate, and mutually binding procedures for\nresolving jurisdictional labor disputes and grievances arising before the\ncompletion of work;\n(II) contain guarantees against strikes, lockouts, or similar actions;\n(III) ensure a reliable source of trained, skilled, and experienced construction\ncraft labor;\n(IV) further public policy objectives regarding improved employment\nopportunities for minorities, women, or other economically disadvantaged\npopulations in the construction industry, including persons from\ndisproportionately impacted communities, to the extent permitted by state\nand federal law;\n\n(V) permit the selection of the lowest qualified responsible bidder or lowest\nqualified responsible offeror without regard to union or non-union status at\nother construction sites; and\n(VI) include other terms as the parties deem appropriate.\n(tt) \"Property owner\" means the legal owner of government record for a parcel of real\nproperty within the service territory of a utility. A utility may rely upon the records\nof a county clerk for the county within which a parcel of real property is located to\ndetermine ownership of government record.\n(uu) \"Pyrolysis\" means the thermochemical decomposition of material at elevated\ntemperatures without the participation of oxygen.\n(vv) \"Qualifying communication\" means one of the following methods of\ncommunicating with a utility customer about a possible upcoming disconnection\nof service:\n(I) a physical visit to the customer's premises during which a utility\nrepresentative speaks with the customer and provides the customer utility\nassistance information or, if the customer is not available to speak, leaves\nnotice of proposed disconnection and utility assistance information for the\ncustomer's review; or\n(II) a telephone call, text, or e-mail to the customer’s last-known telephone\nnumber or email address in which:\n(A) the utility representative provides the customer with notice of the\nproposed disconnection and utility assistance information; and\n(B) the utility representative either speaks directly with the customer\nover the telephone or the customer receives the utility\nrepresentative’s text or email.\n(ww) \"Rate adjustment mechanism\" or \"rate rider\" means a charge added to a utility\nbill to recover a specific cost that is not part of the base rate.\n(xx) \"Recovered methane\" means any of the following that are located in the State of\nColorado and meet the recovered methane protocol approved by the Air Quality\nControl Commission: biomethane; methane derived from municipal solid waste,\nthe pyrolysis of municipal solid waste, biomass pyrolysis or enzymatic biomass,\nor wastewater treatment; coal mine methane as defined in § 40-2-124(1)(a)(II),\nC.R.S, the capture of which is not otherwise required by law; or methane that\nwould have leaked without repairs of the gas distribution or service pipelines from\nthe city gate to customer end use.\n\n(yy) \"Regulated charges\" means charges billed by a utility to a customer if such\ncharges are approved by the Commission, presented on a tariff sheet, or\ncontained in a tariff of the utility.\n(zz) \"Sales customer\" or “full service customer” means a customer who receives\nsales service from a utility and is not served under a utility’s gas transportation\nservice at that same meter.\n(aaa) \"Sales service\" means a bundled gas utility service in which the utility both\npurchases gas commodity for resale to the customer and delivers the gas to the\ncustomer.\n(bbb) \"Security\" includes any stock, bond, note, or other evidence of indebtedness.\n(ccc) \"Service lateral\" means that part of a distribution system from the utility’s main to\nthe entrance to a customer’s physical location.\n(ddd) \"Standard conditions\" means gas at a temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit and\nsubject to an absolute pressure equal to 14.73 pounds per square inch absolute.\n(eee) \"Standard customer data\" means customer data maintained by a utility in its\nsystems in the ordinary course of business.\n(fff) \"Standby capacity\" means the maximum daily volumetric amount of capacity\nreserved in the utility's system for use by a transportation customer, if the\ncustomer purchased optional standby service.\n(ggg) \"Standby supply\" means the daily volumetric amount of gas reserved by a utility\nfor the use by a transportation customer should that customer's supply fail, if the\ncustomer purchased optional standby service.\n(hhh) “Test year” means a twelve-month period that is examined to determine a utility's\ncosts of service in a rate case.\n(iii) \"Third party\" means a person who is not the customer, an agent of the customer\nwho has been designated by the customer with the utility and is acting on the\ncustomer’s behalf, a regulated utility serving the customer, or a contracted agent\nof the utility.\n(jjj) \"Transportation\" means the exchange, forward-haul, backhaul, flow reversal, or\ndisplacement of gas between a utility and a transportation customer through a\npipeline system.\n(kkk) \"Transportation customer\" means a person who, by signing a gas transportation\nagreement, elects to subscribe to gas transportation service offered by a utility.\n(lll) \"Unique identifier\" means customer’s name, mailing address, telephone number,\nor email address that is displayed on a bill.\n\n(mmm) \"Unregulated charges\" means charges that are billed by a utility to a\ncustomer and that are not regulated or approved by the Commission, are not\ncontained in a tariff, and are for service or merchandise not required as a\ncondition of receiving regulated utility service.\n(nnn) \"Utility\" means a public utility as defined in § 40-1-103, C.R.S., providing sales\nservice or transportation service (or both) in Colorado. This term includes both an\nITP and a LDC.\n(ooo) \"Utility assistance information\" means information that a utility representative\nprovides a customer informing the customer that the customer may contact 1-\n866-HEAT-HELP (1-866-432-8435) to determine if the customer qualifies for\nutility bill payment assistance.\n(ppp) \"Utility service\" or \"service\" means a service offering of a utility, which service\noffering is by the Commission.\n(qqq) \"Whole building data\" means the sum of the monthly gas use for either all service\nconnections at a building on a parcel of real property or all buildings on a parcel\nof real property.","truncated":false,"body_characters":19200}