A charge applied to an energy customer for energy reserved or made available explicitly for that customer. This charge is levied whether or not the customer actually uses the energy made available for them. Such a charge might be applied to an industrial customer who may have inconsistent supplies of raw materials, but who must have access to substantial amounts of energy when those materials are available, or to a seasonal customer who requires large amounts of energy at one time of the year for which a utility company must make extra facilities available year-round.

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