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Glossary of Terms




 

Ampere (Amps)

Amount of current or flow of electricity in the wire.

 

Customer Charge

Customer charge includes distribution-related costs that pertain to services, meters, billing, accounting and information.

 

Delivery Charge

Combination of Transmission and Distribution (T&D) charges.

 

Distribution Charge

Covers the costs associated with delivering the electricity to our retail customers and is regulated by the Maine Public Utilities Commission.

 

Electricity Supplier

A company that is licensed to generate and/or sell electricity.

 

Electricity Supply Charge

The portion of the billing that applies to the charges for electric energy and capacity from the Electricity Supplier of your choice.

 

Kilowatt (kW)

The rate at which electric energy is delivered at a given instant. One kW = 1,000 watts.

 

Kilowatt-Hour (kWh)

A unit of electrical energy equal to one kilowatt (kW) of power supplied to or taken from an electric circuit steadily for one hour.

 

Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC)

The MPUC is an independent agency of the state of Maine created by the Maine Legislature "to assure safe, reasonable and adequate service at rates which are just and reasonable to customers and public utilities." The Commission has jurisdiction over water utilities, electric utilities, water carriers, gas utilities, telephone utilities, and resellers of telephone services.

 

Service Days

The number of days between the previous meter read date and the current meter read date used for each billing period.

 

Standard Offer Price

The portion of the billing which applies to the charges for electric energy and capacity. This rate applies when you do not choose an Electricity Supplier. The price is established and regulated by the Maine Public Utilities Commission.
 

Transmission and Distribution (T&D)

Transmission service transmits electricity from power plants through high-voltage lines to distribution substations. Distribution services deliver the electricity from substations to individual customers. Versant Power provides both T&D services.

 

Transmission Charge

These are related to transmitting the power from power plants across high-voltage power lines to our distribution substations and is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

 

Volts

The force of electricity through the wire.

 

Watts

A unit of electricity. Measuring the force of its electricity (volts) and the amount of its flow (amps). The formula: watts = volts x amps.

Please Identify Your Service Area

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Maine Public Service District Bangor Hydro District
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Versant Power provides electric delivery service to two areas – the Bangor Hydro District and the Maine Public District.

            The Bangor Hydro District includes Hancock, Piscataquis and Washington Counties and most of Penobscot County.
            The Maine Public District serves Aroostook County and a small piece of Penobscot County.

Because some information varies by District, please identify your District on the map above, or enter your town or zipcode. If you need information on both Districts,  switch back and forth at any time by selecting the district selector button.

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