# Definitions

- **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:** Not available
- **effective on:** Not available
- **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
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**body:**

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 statutory definition, the statutory definition shall apply. In the
event of a conflict between these definitions and a definition in Part 1, these definitions
shall apply.
(a) “Advanced metering infrastructure” means an integrated system of smart electric
or gas utility meters and communication networks that enables two-way
communication between an electric or gas utility’s data systems and the meter’s
internet protocol address and allows the utility to measure usage and/or connect
or disconnect services remotely.
(b) “Affiliate” of a utility means a subsidiary of a utility, a parent corporation of a
utility, a joint venture organized as a separate corporation or partnership to the
extent of the individual utility’s involvement with the joint venture, a subsidiary of
a parent corporation of a utility or where the utility or the parent corporation has a
controlling interest over an entity.
(c) “Aggregated data” means customer data, alone or in combination with non-
customer data, resulting from processing (e.g., average of a group of customers)
or a compilation of customer data of one or more customers from which personal
information has been removed.
(d) “Applicant for service” means a person who applies for utility service and who
either has taken no previous utility service from that utility or has not taken utility
service from that utility within the most recent 30 days.
(e) “Air Pollution Control Division” means the Air Pollution Control Division of the
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment established by § 25-1-
102(2)(a), C.R.S.
(f) “Air Quality Control Commission” means the decision-making body within the
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment established by § 25-7-
104, C.R.S., to oversee and promulgate the rules to administer Colorado’s air
quality programs.
(g) “Base rate” means charges used to recover costs of utility infrastructure and
operations, including a return on capital investment, not otherwise recovered
through a utility rate adjustment mechanism.
(h) “Basis Point” means one-hundredth of a percentage point (100 basis points = 1
percent).

(i) “Benefit of service” means the use of utility service by each person of legal age
who resides at a premises to which service is delivered and who is not registered
with the utility as the customer of record.
(j) "Biomethane" means:
(I) a mixture of carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons released from the biological
decomposition of organic materials that is primarily methane and provides
a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions; and
(II) includes biomethane recovered from manure management systems or
anaerobic digesters that has been processed to meet pipeline quality gas
standards.
(k) "Commission" means the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.
(l) "Contracted agent" means any person that has contracted with a utility in
compliance with rule 4030 to assist in the provision of regulated utility services
(e.g., an affiliate or vendor).
(m) “Craft labor certification” means all documentation and certification of payroll
required for an Energy Sector Public Works project.
(n) "Cubic foot" means, as the context requires.
(I) At Local Pressure Conditions. For the purpose of measuring gas to a
customer at local pressure conditions, a cubic foot is that amount of gas
which occupies a volume of one cubic foot under the conditions existing in
the customer’s meter as and where installed. When gas is metered at a
pressure in excess of eight inches of water column gauge pressure, a
suitable correction factor shall be applied to provide for measurement of
gas as if delivered and metered at a pressure of six inches of water
column gauge pressure. A utility may also apply appropriate factors to
correct local pressure measurement to standard conditions.
(II) At Standard Conditions. For all other purposes, including testing gas, a
standard cubic foot is that amount of gas at standard conditions which
occupies a volume of one cubic foot.
(o) "Curtailment" means the inability of a transportation customer or a sales
customer to receive gas due to a shortage of gas supply.

(p) "Customer" means any person who is currently receiving utility service. Any
person who moves within a utility’s service territory and obtains utility service at a
new location within 30 days shall be considered a "customer." Unless stated in a
particular rule, "customer" applies to any class of customer as defined by the
Commission or by utility tariff.
(q) "Customer data" means customer specific information, excluding personal
information as defined in paragraph 1004(x), that is:
(I) collected from the gas meter by the utility and stored in its data systems;
(II) combined with customer-specific energy usage information on bills issued
to the customer for regulated utility service when not publicly or lawfully
available to the general public; or
(III) about the customer’s participation in regulated utility programs, such as
renewable energy, demand-side management, load management, or
energy efficiency programs.
(r) "Dekatherm" (Dth) means a measurement of gas commodity heat content. One
Dekatherm is the energy equivalent of 1,000,000 British Thermal Units (1
MMBtu).
(s) "Dedicated recovered methane pipeline" means a conveyance of recovered
methane that is not a part of a common carrier pipeline system, and which
conveys recovered methane from where it is generated to a common carrier
pipeline or to the end user in Colorado for which the recovered methane was
produced so long as the recovered methane replaces geologic gas supplied by a
gas distribution utility or small gas distribution utility.
(t) "Design peak demand" refers to the maximum gas flow rate projected for a utility
system, or a portion thereof, which is utilized by a utility for gas infrastructure
capacity planning.
(u) "Disproportionately impacted community" means a geographic area defined
pursuant to § 40-2-108(3)(d), C.R.S., and as may be further modified by
Commission rule or order. Mapping of such geographic areas shall be conducted
in accordance with the best available mapping tool developed by the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment, until such time as a different
practice is adopted by Commission rule or order.
(v) "Distribution system" means the utility-owned piping and associated facilities
used to deliver gas to customers, excluding facilities owned by a utility that are
classified on the books and records of the utility as production, storage, or
transmission facilities.

(w) "Emergency or safety event or circumstance" means a manmade or natural
emergency event or safety circumstance:
(I) that prevents utility staff from being able to safely travel to or work at a
customer's residence or place of business for purposes of reconnecting or
making necessary repairs prior to reconnecting utility service; or
(II) for which a utility has dispatched utility staff members to help respond to
the emergency or safety event or circumstance and, due to the timing or
number of utility staff dispatched, the utility lacks sufficient trained staff to
reconnect or make necessary repairs prior to reconnecting utility service at
a customer's residence or place of business; and
(III) includes a severe weather event that one or more reputable weather
forecasting sources forecasts to occur in the following twenty-four hours
and that is more likely than not to result in dangerous travel or on-site
outdoor or indoor work conditions for individuals in the path of the weather
event.
(x) "Energy assistance organization" means the nonprofit corporation established for
low-income energy assistance pursuant to § 40-8.5-104, C.R.S.
(y) “Energy Sector Public Works (ESPW) project” is a project pursuant to § 24-92-
301, C.R.S., et seq., that for purposes of these rules:
(I) has the purpose of transmitting or distributing natural gas to provide
energy to Colorado individual consumers and businesses;
(II) is built by or for a utility;
(III) has a total project cost of $1,000,000 or greater, of which the utility will
request Commission approval for ratepayers to pay at least $500,000;
(IV) is included for approval through any proceeding conducted by the
Commission as part of a request for a certificate of public convenience
and necessity pursuant to § 40-5-101, C.R.S., et seq. and the cost
thresholds set forth in rule 4102; and
(V) includes utility gas transmission and distribution, geothermal systems or
thermal networks, and hydrogen-related infrastructure construction
projects.

(z) "Gas" means natural or geological gas; hydrogen, or recovered methane, or any
mixture thereof transported by a common carrier or dedicated pipeline;
flammable gas; manufactured gas; petroleum or other hydrocarbon gases
including propane; or any mixture of gases injected into a pipeline and
transmitted, distributed, or furnished by any utility.
(aa) "Income-qualified utility customer" or "low-income customer" is a customer
meeting the requirements of § 40-3-106(1)(d)(II), C.R.S.
(bb) "Informal complaint" means an informal complaint as defined and discussed in
the Commission’s Rules Regulating Practice and Procedure, 4 CCR 723-1.
(cc) "Interruption" means a utility’s inability to provide transportation to a
transportation customer, or its inability to serve a sales customer, due to
constraints on the utility’s pipeline system.
(dd) "Intrastate transmission pipeline" or "ITP" means generally any person that
provides gas transportation service for compensation to or for another person in
the State of Colorado using transmission facilities rather than distribution facilities
and is exempt from FERC jurisdiction.
(ee) "Local distribution company" (LDC) means any person, other than an interstate
pipeline or an intrastate transmission pipeline, engaged in the sale and
distribution of gas for end-user consumption. A LDC may also perform
transportation services for its end-use customers, for another LDC or its end-use
customers, as authorized under its effective Colorado jurisdictional tariffs.
(ff) "Local government" means any Colorado county, municipality, city and county,
home rule city or town, home rule city and county, or city or town operating under
a territorial charter.
(gg) "Local office" means any Colorado office operated by a utility at which persons
may make requests to establish or to discontinue utility service. If the utility does
not operate an office in Colorado, "local office" means any office operated by a
utility at which persons may make requests to establish or to discontinue utility
service in Colorado.
(hh) "Mandatory relocation" means a project to relocate the utility’s gas infrastructure
as required by a federal, tribal, state, county, or local governmental body.
(ii) "Main" means a distribution line that serves, or is designed to serve, as a
common source of supply for more than one service lateral.
(jj) "Mcf" means 1,000 standard cubic feet.
(kk) "MMBtu" means 1,000,000 British Thermal Units, or one Dekatherm.

(ll) "Natural gas" or "geological gas" means methane or other hydrocarbons that
occur underground without human intervention and may be used as fuel.
(mm) "Non-pipeline alternative" means programs, equipment, or actions that avoid,
reduce, or delay the need for investment in certain types of new gas
infrastructure and may include energy efficiency, demand response, and
beneficial electrification.
(nn) "Non-standard customer data" means all customer data that are not standard
customer data.
(oo) "Past due" means the point at which a utility can affect a customer’s account for
regulated service due to non-payment of charges for regulated service.
(pp) "Pipeline system" means the utility-owned piping and associated facilities used in
the transmission or distribution of gas.
(qq) "Principal place of business" means the place, in or out of the State of Colorado,
where the executive or managing principals who directly oversee the utility's
operations in Colorado are located.
(rr) "Pressure district" means a localized area within a utility’s service territory
whereby an established minimum and maximum pressure range is intended to
be maintained and is distinct from neighboring regions.
(ss) “Project labor agreement,” pursuant to § 24-92-303(9), C.R.S., means a pre-hire
collective bargaining agreement between a lead contractor and construction
labor organization(s) covering the affected trades necessary to perform work on
a project that establishes the terms and conditions of employment of the
construction workforce and includes provisions that:
(I) set forth effective, immediate, and mutually binding procedures for
resolving jurisdictional labor disputes and grievances arising before the
completion of work;
(II) contain guarantees against strikes, lockouts, or similar actions;
(III) ensure a reliable source of trained, skilled, and experienced construction
craft labor;
(IV) further public policy objectives regarding improved employment
opportunities for minorities, women, or other economically disadvantaged
populations in the construction industry, including persons from
disproportionately impacted communities, to the extent permitted by state
and federal law;

(V) permit the selection of the lowest qualified responsible bidder or lowest
qualified responsible offeror without regard to union or non-union status at
other construction sites; and
(VI) include other terms as the parties deem appropriate.
(tt) "Property owner" means the legal owner of government record for a parcel of real
property within the service territory of a utility. A utility may rely upon the records
of a county clerk for the county within which a parcel of real property is located to
determine ownership of government record.
(uu) "Pyrolysis" means the thermochemical decomposition of material at elevated
temperatures without the participation of oxygen.
(vv) "Qualifying communication" means one of the following methods of
communicating with a utility customer about a possible upcoming disconnection
of service:
(I) a physical visit to the customer's premises during which a utility
representative speaks with the customer and provides the customer utility
assistance information or, if the customer is not available to speak, leaves
notice of proposed disconnection and utility assistance information for the
customer's review; or
(II) a telephone call, text, or e-mail to the customer’s last-known telephone
number or email address in which:
(A) the utility representative provides the customer with notice of the
proposed disconnection and utility assistance information; and
(B) the utility representative either speaks directly with the customer
over the telephone or the customer receives the utility
representative’s text or email.
(ww) "Rate adjustment mechanism" or "rate rider" means a charge added to a utility
bill to recover a specific cost that is not part of the base rate.
(xx) "Recovered methane" means any of the following that are located in the State of
Colorado and meet the recovered methane protocol approved by the Air Quality
Control Commission: biomethane; methane derived from municipal solid waste,
the pyrolysis of municipal solid waste, biomass pyrolysis or enzymatic biomass,
or wastewater treatment; coal mine methane as defined in § 40-2-124(1)(a)(II),
C.R.S, the capture of which is not otherwise required by law; or methane that
would have leaked without repairs of the gas distribution or service pipelines from
the city gate to customer end use.

(yy) "Regulated charges" means charges billed by a utility to a customer if such
charges are approved by the Commission, presented on a tariff sheet, or
contained in a tariff of the utility.
(zz) "Sales customer" or “full service customer” means a customer who receives
sales service from a utility and is not served under a utility’s gas transportation
service at that same meter.
(aaa) "Sales service" means a bundled gas utility service in which the utility both
purchases gas commodity for resale to the customer and delivers the gas to the
customer.
(bbb) "Security" includes any stock, bond, note, or other evidence of indebtedness.
(ccc) "Service lateral" means that part of a distribution system from the utility’s main to
the entrance to a customer’s physical location.
(ddd) "Standard conditions" means gas at a temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit and
subject to an absolute pressure equal to 14.73 pounds per square inch absolute.
(eee) "Standard customer data" means customer data maintained by a utility in its
systems in the ordinary course of business.
(fff) "Standby capacity" means the maximum daily volumetric amount of capacity
reserved in the utility's system for use by a transportation customer, if the
customer purchased optional standby service.
(ggg) "Standby supply" means the daily volumetric amount of gas reserved by a utility
for the use by a transportation customer should that customer's supply fail, if the
customer purchased optional standby service.
(hhh) “Test year” means a twelve-month period that is examined to determine a utility's
costs of service in a rate case.
(iii) "Third party" means a person who is not the customer, an agent of the customer
who has been designated by the customer with the utility and is acting on the
customer’s behalf, a regulated utility serving the customer, or a contracted agent
of the utility.
(jjj) "Transportation" means the exchange, forward-haul, backhaul, flow reversal, or
displacement of gas between a utility and a transportation customer through a
pipeline system.
(kkk) "Transportation customer" means a person who, by signing a gas transportation
agreement, elects to subscribe to gas transportation service offered by a utility.
(lll) "Unique identifier" means customer’s name, mailing address, telephone number,
or email address that is displayed on a bill.

(mmm) "Unregulated charges" means charges that are billed by a utility to a
customer and that are not regulated or approved by the Commission, are not
contained in a tariff, and are for service or merchandise not required as a
condition of receiving regulated utility service.
(nnn) "Utility" means a public utility as defined in § 40-1-103, C.R.S., providing sales
service or transportation service (or both) in Colorado. This term includes both an
ITP and a LDC.
(ooo) "Utility assistance information" means information that a utility representative
provides a customer informing the customer that the customer may contact 1-
866-HEAT-HELP (1-866-432-8435) to determine if the customer qualifies for
utility bill payment assistance.
(ppp) "Utility service" or "service" means a service offering of a utility, which service
offering is by the Commission.
(qqq) "Whole building data" means the sum of the monthly gas use for either all service
connections at a building on a parcel of real property or all buildings on a parcel
of real property.
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