Glossary
18 terms with laundromat examples.
- Capacity charge
- A capacity charge recovers regional grid costs for ensuring enough generation capacity to serve peak system load. On some commercial electric bills—especially in markets with capacity auctions—it appears separate from kWh energy and kW demand lines. Laundromats may see capacity as a per-kW or embedded delivery component depending on utility and ISO rules.
- Community choice aggregation
- Community choice aggregation is a program where municipalities or counties procure electric supply for residents and businesses while the utility continues delivery. Laundromats in CCA states may receive default CCA supply unless they opt out to a retail electric provider. CCA is not universal nationwide—eligibility depends on state law and local participation.
- Delivery charge
- Delivery charges recover regulated utility costs to transport energy to your laundromat—electric transmission and distribution, or gas pipeline and local distribution. The delivering utility bills these fees even when you buy supply from another company. Delivery includes infrastructure, maintenance, and often demand-related components on commercial electric tariffs.
- Demand charge
- A demand charge bills your highest average electric draw in kilowatts during a defined interval—commonly 15 or 30 minutes—within the billing period. Laundromats can hit demand peaks when washers, water heaters, and HVAC overlap even if total kWh looks stable. Demand is usually a delivery tariff element but appears as its own line on commercial bills.
- Early termination fee
- An early termination fee is a contractual charge for exiting a laundromat supply agreement before its term ends. ETFs appear in many fixed electric and gas marketer contracts. Buyers inherit ETF liability when assignments succeed; switching suppliers early triggers fees unless the contract truly expired.
- Holdover rate
- A holdover rate is month-to-month supply pricing applied after a laundromat energy contract expires without renewal. Holdover appears on supply portions of bills and is often higher than negotiated fixed rates. Owners recognize holdover by comparing post-expiry supply $/kWh or $/therm to signed contract months.
- Interval data
- Interval data is time-stamped electric usage—often 15-minute kW and kWh readings—from advanced or demand meters on commercial laundromat accounts. Utilities provide interval downloads to authorized account holders or brokers with LOAs. Interval data reveals when demand peaks occur for tariff and operational decisions.
- Kilowatt-hour
- A kilowatt-hour measures total electric energy consumed over time—one kW drawn for one hour. Laundromat kWh accumulates from washers, electric or heat-pump water heating, lighting, HVAC, vending, and dryer motors even when drying heat is gas-fired. kWh differs from kW demand, which bills peak interval draw.
- Letter of authorization
- A letter of authorization allows an energy broker, buyer, or advisor to access utility usage data, supplier records, and account details on behalf of a laundromat owner. LOAs are essential during acquisitions to pull bills when sellers stall and for brokers to quote supply without guessing usage.
- Load factor
- Load factor compares average electric demand to peak demand over a billing period—higher load factor means steadier use relative to peaks. Laundromats with spiky washer and HVAC overlap may have lower load factor, making demand charges costly relative to kWh. Improving load factor spreads peaks across more operating hours when equipment scheduling allows.
- Price to compare
- Price to compare is a utility-published benchmark showing the cost of default electric supply per kWh, used in retail choice markets to evaluate competitive supplier offers. Laundromat owners compare broker quotes against price to compare—but must still account for contract terms, delivery charges, and demand separately.
- Rate class
- A rate class is the tariff schedule code assigned to your laundromat utility account, determining whether demand charges, time-of-use periods, and specific customer fees apply. Laundromats typically fall under general commercial or small business schedules, but exact names vary by utility. Verify rate class on every bill during acquisition diligence.
- Remaining moisture content
- Remaining moisture content is the moisture left in laundry after washing, expressed as a percentage of fabric weight. Higher RMC means dryers run longer, increasing gas therms or electric kWh per load. Washer extraction efficiency and spin speeds strongly influence laundromat drying energy beyond dryer age alone.
- Retail electric provider
- A retail electric provider sells competitive electric supply to laundromats in choice markets while the utility continues delivery. REPs offer fixed, variable, and indexed products distinct from regulated delivery tariffs. Contract assignability, holdover rules, and LOA requirements apply to REP relationships at acquisition and renewal.
- Rider
- A rider is a tariff surcharge or credit on laundromat utility bills funding specific programs, infrastructure, or policy costs outside base rates. Riders appear as line items with alphanumeric codes and can change mid-year without fanfare. They affect both supply and delivery portions depending on design.
- Supply charge
- A supply charge covers the cost of energy commodity—electric generation or natural gas molecules—on a laundromat bill. In retail choice states, supply may appear from a retail electric provider or gas marketer while the utility still delivers service. Supply is distinct from delivery charges for wires, pipes, and local infrastructure.
- Therm
- A therm is a unit measuring natural gas energy equal to 100,000 British thermal units. Laundromat gas bills bill dryer and water heater consumption in therms or convert CCF/CCF readings to therms using heating content factors. Tracking therms month to month separates usage changes from commodity rate changes.
- Transmission and distribution utility
- A transmission and distribution utility owns and operates wires, substations, and local gas pipelines delivering energy to your laundromat premise. In retail choice markets, the TDU delivers power even when you buy supply elsewhere—EIA notes this split explicitly. TDU charges appear as delivery on bills and continue regardless of supplier switches.