Glossary

Every term you encounter in the Nectar platform, API, and documentation is defined here. The glossary is organized into domain sections so you can quickly find the terms relevant to what you’re working on.

---

​

Domain index

---

​

Bills and Documents

A bill is a single processed utility document — the foundational unit of data in Nectar. Every bill is associated with an account, belongs to a meter, and contains charges and usage data for a specific billing period.

---

​

Bill

A single processed utility document. A bill contains the billing period start and end dates, total charges, usage quantities, line items, and optionally a link to the original PDF. Bills enter Nectar through three paths: an automated connection, a manual upload, or manual entry. Key fields:

• Bill date — the billing period end date
• Due date — payment deadline
• Invoice ID — the utility’s bill identifier
• Source type — how the bill entered Nectar
• Total charges — the total amount billed
• Summary bill flag — whether this bill covers multiple sub-accounts

Related docs: Bills overview, Bill detail

---

​

Bill date

The last date of the billing period covered by a bill. Also called the service end date or statement date. Nectar uses the bill date as the primary date for sorting, filtering, and time-series analytics. When you set a date range filter in the platform, it filters on the bill date. Why it matters: The bill date determines where a bill appears in your data timeline. For trend analysis, Nectar aligns bills by their bill date across accounts. Example: A bill with a billing period of December 1–31 has a bill date of December 31.

---

​

Billing period

The start and end dates covered by a single bill. The billing period represents the window of time during which the utility measured energy consumption that appears on this bill. Why it matters: Billing periods vary by utility — most are monthly, but some utilities bill bi-monthly or quarterly. Overlapping billing periods between two bills for the same meter are flagged as a data quality issue. Relationship to bill date: The bill date is always the last day of the billing period.

---

​

Document

The external API term for a bill. The platform UI uses “bill”; the Nectar API uses “document.” They refer to the same entity.

---

​

Due date

The payment deadline printed on the bill. Not all utilities include a due date. When present, it is extracted by Nectar’s AI processing and stored alongside the other bill fields. Note: The due date is informational only — Nectar does not automatically trigger any action based on the due date.

---

​

Invoice ID

The unique identifier for a bill as assigned by the utility provider. Also called the invoice number, statement number, or document reference number. Invoice IDs vary widely in format across utilities — some use numeric sequences, others use alphanumeric codes. Why it matters: Nectar uses the invoice ID to detect and prevent duplicate processing — if the same invoice ID is encountered twice for the same account, the second instance is flagged as a potential duplicate.

---

​

Summary bill

A summary bill aggregates charges from multiple sub-accounts or service addresses into a single document. Some large enterprise or multi-site customers receive a single consolidated bill from their utility that covers many meters or locations. Why it matters: Summary bills require special handling in analytics and export — the charges represent many sites, not just one. Individual sub-account bills may also exist alongside the summary bill (each covering a single meter). When to set this: Mark a bill as a summary bill if it covers multiple accounts. Nectar will exclude it from per-meter analysis but retain it for portfolio-level totals.

---

​

Source type

How a bill entered Nectar. The source type determines the bill’s data provenance and is shown in the Bills table and bill detail view. Why it matters: Source type affects your confidence in the data. Automated bills are collected directly from the utility portal. Manually entered data may contain human error.

---

​

Flagged bill

A bill marked for review because of a suspected data quality issue. Bills can be flagged automatically by Nectar’s quality checks or manually by a team member. Flagged bills show a red flag icon in the Bills table and appear in the Data Quality section. Common flag reasons: Missing usage, duplicate detected, unusually high charges, overlapping service dates, manual flag. Resolution: Open the bill detail, review the flag reason, correct the issue or dismiss the flag.

---

​

Bill pay status

Whether a bill has been paid. Possible values: Paid, Unpaid, Unknown (when the utility does not report payment status). Bill pay status is only shown when your company has bill payment tracking enabled.

---

​

Revised bill

A bill that has been corrected or superseded by a newer version issued by the utility. Revised bills appear with a revision banner in the bill detail view. Nectar links the original and revised versions so you can compare them. Why utilities issue revisions: Meter read errors, estimated reads that were later corrected, rate adjustments.

---

​

Raw datasource name

The utility provider name as it appeared on the original bill or in the utility portal, before Nectar matched it to a known datasource. Used for matching and deduplication when Nectar has encountered slight variations in a utility’s name (e.g., “Pacific Gas & Electric” vs. “PG&E”).

---

---

​

Charges and Line Items

Every bill in Nectar breaks down its total amount into structured charge categories. Understanding these categories is essential for cost allocation, analytics, and reconciliation.

---

​

Total charges

The final total amount billed for this period — the single number on the bottom of the bill. Total charges is the sum of all current charges, taxes, fees, and any balance carried forward from the prior period, minus credits. This is the amount you would pay to settle the bill in full. Formula (simplified): Total Charges = Current Charges + Tax Charges + Interest + Previous Balance − Credits − Payments

---

​

Current charges

The charges for this billing period only — the cost of energy consumed during this period, before applying any previous unpaid balance. Current charges typically include the energy charge, demand charge (if applicable), distribution charge, and other recurring service charges. Contrast with total charges: Current charges represent only the new activity this period. Total charges adds in any carried-forward balance and subtracts payments.

---

​

Credits

Negative charges on a bill that reduce the amount owed. Credits may appear as utility rebates, billing adjustments, rate corrections, or returns of deposit. A credit with a large magnitude may indicate a billing error. Example: A utility credit of $−45.00 for a demand response event participation.

---

​

Tax charges

Government-mandated taxes and surcharges applied to the bill. Tax charges vary by jurisdiction and utility type. Examples include state sales tax on electricity, municipal utility tax, or renewable portfolio standard (RPS) surcharges.

---

​

Interest charges

Late-payment penalties or financing charges added when a prior balance was not paid by the due date. Most commercial utility accounts have interest provisions.

---

​

Previous balance

The unpaid balance carried forward from the previous billing period. If the prior bill was not paid in full, the remaining amount appears here.

---

​

Payments received

Payments credited by the utility since the previous bill was issued. Reduces the current open balance.

---

​

Current open balance

The total currently owed, calculated as Previous Balance + Current Charges − Payments. This is the amount on which the due date applies.

---

​

Electricity supply charges

The cost of electricity generation or commodity — the energy itself, separate from the cost of delivering it to your building. In deregulated electricity markets, supply and delivery are often billed by different companies.

---

​

Electricity delivery charges

The cost of delivering electricity from the grid to your building, covering local distribution infrastructure (power lines, transformers, substations). Also called the distribution charge.

---

​

Distribution charge

A line item covering the cost of distributing energy from the regional grid to your building — the “last mile” of infrastructure. For electricity, this includes local power lines and substations. For natural gas, this includes the local pipeline network. Contrast with the transmission charge, which covers the high-voltage long-distance portion.

---

​

Transmission charge

A line item covering the cost of transporting high-voltage electricity from power plants across the regional grid to local distribution systems. Transmission charges are typically a small fraction of the total bill.

---

​

Demand charge

Charges on an electricity bill based on your peak electricity consumption rate (kilowatts, kW) during the billing period. The utility sizes its generation and transmission infrastructure to serve every customer’s peak need — the demand charge recovers that capacity cost. Demand charges often represent 30–50% of a commercial electricity bill. Also called: electricity demand charges, capacity charges, peak demand charges. See also: Peak demand, Demand meter, Billing demand

​

Electricity demand charges

See Demand charge.

---

​

Gas supply charges

The cost of natural gas commodity — the energy itself, separate from the delivery or transportation charge. In deregulated gas markets, supply may be purchased from a third-party supplier.

---

​

Gas delivery charges

The cost of transporting natural gas through the local distribution network to your building. Also called the distribution charge for gas.

---

​

Base charge

A fixed monthly fee on a utility bill that does not vary with usage. Also called a customer charge, service charge, or minimum charge. The base charge covers the utility’s cost of maintaining the connection regardless of how much energy you consume.

---

​

Fuel adjustment charge

A variable surcharge that reflects changes in the utility’s cost of generating electricity, typically tied to natural gas or fuel oil prices. Also called the fuel cost recovery charge or energy cost adjustment. This charge fluctuates month to month and is passed through directly to customers.

---

​

Line items

Individual charge or credit components within a bill. A single bill typically contains 5–20 line items: energy charges, demand charges, distribution charges, transmission charges, taxes, adjustments, and credits. Nectar extracts and categorizes line items, then aggregates them into the structured charge fields (current charges, tax charges, etc.). Why they matter: Line items enable precise cost allocation — for example, separating supply costs from delivery costs, or isolating demand charges from energy charges.

---

---

​

Meters and Usage Data

A meter is the device (or logical entity) that tracks utility consumption over time at a site. Meters accumulate data month after month and are the foundation for trend analysis, benchmarking, and emissions reporting.

---

​

Meter

A physical device — or a logical entity corresponding to a service point in the utility’s system — that records utility consumption at a site. Each meter tracks a single commodity. Meters are identified by a meter identifier extracted from utility bills. Key fields:

• Meter ID / meter identifier
• Site — the location where the meter is installed
• Account — the utility account associated with this meter
• Utility type (commodity)
• Tracking status
• Address — the service address on bills
• Country — the country of installation

Related docs: Meters overview, Meter detail

---

​

Meter identifier

The number that uniquely identifies a physical meter at a site, as printed on utility bills. Also called the meter serial number, meter number, service point ID, pod number, MPAN (UK electricity), or electric point of delivery (EPOD). Why it matters: Nectar uses the meter identifier to match bills to the correct meter. If the identifier changes (e.g., a utility replaces the physical meter), Nectar creates a new meter or links the new identifier to the existing one. Display: Meter identifiers are always displayed in monospace font to prevent character confusion (e.g., 0 vs. O, 1 vs. l).

---

​

Tracked

Whether Nectar is actively collecting and processing new bills for a meter. When tracked, every new bill that arrives through the associated connection is matched to this meter. When untracked, historical data is retained but new bill collection stops. When to untrack: Meters that are no longer active at a site (equipment removed, tenant moved out) should be untracked to keep your data clean.

---

​

Meter address

The service address associated with this meter, as printed on utility bills. This may differ from the site address if the utility uses its own address format for the service point.

---

​

Meter country

The country where this meter is located. Used when calculating greenhouse gas emission factors for Scope 2 emissions, since electricity grid emission factors vary significantly by country and region.

---

​

Demand meter

A meter that records peak electricity demand (kW) in addition to consumption (kWh). Demand meters are common for commercial and industrial electricity accounts and are required to calculate demand charges. Interval: Demand is typically measured as the highest 15- or 30-minute average during the billing period.

---

​

Usage data

The time-series consumption records associated with a meter — how much energy was consumed during each billing period. Usage data is the primary input for analytics, trend analysis, and emissions reporting. Fields per usage record:

• Start date and end date of the consumption period
• Usage quantity (e.g., 1,200 kWh)
• Unit of measure (e.g., kWh, therms, gallons)
• Commodity type

---

​

Interval data

Sub-hourly electricity readings — typically 15-minute or 30-minute intervals. Interval data is collected from smart meters and utilities that provide it via API or automated download. Interval data enables detailed analysis of load profiles, peak demand timing, and time-of-use cost optimization.

---

​

Document count

The total number of processed bills associated with a meter. A growing document count indicates ongoing active collection.

---

​

Last bill date

The bill date of the most recently processed bill for a meter or account. Useful for verifying that data collection is current — if the last bill date is several months ago, the connection may need attention.

---

---

​

Accounts

An account is the billing relationship between your organization and a utility provider — identified by an account number. Accounts are discovered automatically when Nectar logs into a utility portal.

---

​

Account

A utility account linked to a connection. Accounts have a unique account number, belong to exactly one connection, and are associated with one or more meters. Accounts are the intermediate entity between connections (which come from a single portal login) and meters (which track individual service points). Key fields:

• Account number
• Status
• Tracking
• Site (from meters)

---

​

Account number

The identifier printed on utility bills that uniquely identifies the account at the utility provider. Nectar extracts the account number from bills and uses it for matching. Display: Account numbers are always displayed in monospace font.

---

​

Account status

The lifecycle state of an account in Nectar.

---

​

Site (from meters)

The site associated with an account, derived from the site assignments of its meters. Since meters (not accounts) are directly assigned to sites, the account inherits its site from its meters. If an account has meters at multiple sites, the primary site is shown.

---

​

Last sync

The last time Nectar checked this account on the utility portal for new bills. For online connections, this happens automatically on a weekly schedule.

---

​

Last service date

The billing period end date of the most recently processed bill for this account. Effectively the same as last bill date but scoped to the account level.

---

---

​

Connections

A connection is the configured link between Nectar and a utility provider. It holds the credentials, settings, and schedule for automated bill collection.

---

​

Connection

A configured link between Nectar and a utility provider. Each connection has a datasource (the utility), login credentials, one or more associated sites, and a connection status. Connections are the engine that drives automated data collection. Connection types:

• Online connection — Nectar’s scraper logs in automatically
• Email connection — bills arrive via forwarded email

---

​

Online connection

A connection type where Nectar’s automated scraper logs into the utility portal using the credentials you provide, just like a person would. Nectar checks for new bills on a weekly schedule and downloads them. This is the most common connection type, supported for thousands of utility providers.

---

​

Email connection

A connection type where bills are collected by forwarding utility emails to a Nectar-provided email address. When a bill email arrives, Nectar automatically processes the attached document. When to use: For utilities where portal login scraping is not available, or where bills are only delivered by email.

---

​

Connection status

The current operational state of a connection.

---

​

Datasource

The utility provider a connection is linked to — for example, PG&E, ConEdison, or Thames Water. Each datasource is a known entry in Nectar’s provider catalog, including the portal URL, login flow, and commodity types supported.

---

​

Collection start date

The earliest date from which Nectar will retrieve historical bills when a connection is first created. Most utility portals provide 12–24 months of history. You set the collection start date during the connection wizard.

---

​

Data owner

The email address of the person responsible for this connection — typically the person who provided the utility portal credentials. Used for notifications and accountability.

---

​

Reconnection

Re-establishing a connection that has entered an error state. Typically required when utility portal credentials expire (password change, MFA change, or portal security update). The reconnect flow updates credentials without losing historical data or site associations.

---

​

Magic link

A shareable URL that allows a recipient to create a new utility connection without having a Nectar login. Magic links are used to collect credentials from clients or building managers without requiring them to navigate the full platform. Security: Each magic link is single-use and scoped to a specific connection template. The recipient never sees your other data.

---

---

​

Sites and Organizations

Sites are the physical locations in your portfolio. Companies are logical groups of sites. Organizations are the top-level container for all companies and users.

---

​

Site

A physical location — a building, warehouse, storefront, data center, or other facility — where utility accounts are active. Sites have a real-world address and are the central organizing unit for all data in Nectar. Meters, accounts, and bills are all ultimately associated with sites. Key properties:

• Physical address
• Site tags for grouping
• Associated meters and accounts
• Completeness score for data quality

---

​

Site tag

A label assigned to sites for grouping and filtering. Site tags let you organize sites by region, portfolio, building type, ownership structure, or any other categorization relevant to your organization. You can filter by site tag across Data Inventory, Analytics, and Data Export.

---

​

Company

A logical grouping of sites and connections within an organization. A company typically represents a client you manage, a business unit within an enterprise, or a portfolio of buildings. All data in Nectar is scoped to a company — you select the active company from the sidebar.

---

​

Organization

The top-level account structure in Nectar. An organization contains all companies, users, and settings for a Nectar customer. Organization-level settings include API key management, webhook endpoints, and white-label branding.

---

​

Gross floor area (GFA)

The total interior square footage of a building, measured from the outside surfaces of exterior walls. GFA is used as the denominator when calculating Energy Use Intensity (EUI). GFA typically includes all interior spaces — offices, hallways, stairwells, mechanical rooms, and storage areas — but excludes exterior spaces such as parking lots. Note: GFA is entered and managed in platform settings for sites configured for ENERGY STAR benchmarking.

---

---

​

Commodities and Energy Types

Nectar tracks multiple commodity types — the type of utility measured by each meter.

---

​

Commodity

The type of utility tracked by a meter or bill. Nectar supports eight commodity types:

---

​

Electricity

Grid electricity purchased from a utility, measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh) or megawatt-hours (MWh). Electricity bills often include both consumption (kWh) and demand (kW) components.

---

​

Natural gas

Piped gas from a distribution utility, measured in therms, CCF (hundred cubic feet), MCF (thousand cubic feet), or kBtu. The conversion: 1 therm = 100,000 BTU ≈ 1 CCF.

---

​

Water

Municipal water consumption, measured in gallons (US) or CCF (hundred cubic feet). 1 CCF ≈ 748 gallons. Nectar tracks both potable (drinking-quality) and reclaimed (recycled) water.

---

​

Waste

Waste disposal and diversion services, measured in pounds or tons. Nectar tracks four waste management categories: landfill disposal, recycling, composting, and donation/reuse. The waste diversion rate is a key sustainability metric.

---

​

Fuel

Liquid and solid fuels other than natural gas — including diesel, propane, kerosene, and fuel oil. Measured in gallons or liters. Fuel consumption is a common Scope 1 emissions source.

---

​

Solar

On-site photovoltaic (PV) generation, measured in kWh. Solar data may appear as generation credits on an electricity bill (net metering arrangements) or as a separate solar production reading.

---

​

District energy

Centrally produced heating or cooling distributed via underground insulated pipes. Types include:

• District steam — high-pressure steam for heating
• District hot water — heated water for space heating or domestic hot water
• District chilled water — chilled water for air conditioning

Measured in Mlb (thousand pounds of steam), kBtu, or ton-hours.

---

​

Refrigerant

Refrigerant gases used in HVAC, refrigeration, and chiller equipment — including HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons) and HCFCs. Many refrigerants are potent greenhouse gases (R-410A has a GWP of ~2,088 times CO₂). Refrigerant tracking is required for comprehensive Scope 1 emissions reporting.

---

​

Unit of measure (UOM)

The unit used to express utility consumption. Common units in Nectar: When configuring anomaly monitoring for a site, units are organized into four groups: Energy (kWh, MWh, GWh, Btu, MMBtu, thm, Dth, GJ, MJ, kJ), Volume (gal, kgal, L, kL, cubic ft, cubic m, CCF, HCF, MCF, bbl), Mass (kg, lb, tons, metric ton, tonne), and Power (kW, MW).

---

​

kWh (Kilowatt-hour)

The standard unit for measuring electricity consumption. One kWh = the energy consumed by a 1,000-watt device running for one hour. 1 kWh = 3.412 kBtu.

---

​

kW (Kilowatt)

The standard unit for measuring electricity demand — the instantaneous rate of consumption. 1 kW = 1,000 watts. Demand is measured as the highest 15- or 30-minute average kW during a billing period.

---

​

kBtu (Kilo British Thermal Unit)

A unit of energy equal to 1,000 British Thermal Units (BTU). Used to normalize and compare energy consumption across different fuel types. 1 kWh = 3.412 kBtu; 1 therm = 100 kBtu.

---

​

MMBtu (Million British Thermal Units)

One million BTU, equal to 10 therms or 1,000 kBtu. Common in commercial and industrial natural gas billing. 1 MMBtu ≈ 293 kWh of electricity.

---

​

Therm

A unit for measuring natural gas consumption equal to 100,000 BTU. The most common unit for residential and commercial gas billing in the United States.

---

​

CCF

Hundred cubic feet — a unit for measuring natural gas or water consumption. 1 CCF of natural gas ≈ 1.02 therms ≈ 748 gallons of water.

---

​

MCF

Thousand cubic feet of natural gas. 1 MCF = 10 CCF ≈ 10.2 therms.

---

---

​

Energy Performance and Benchmarking

---

​

Energy Use Intensity (EUI)

Energy consumed per unit of floor area per year — the standard metric for comparing buildings of different sizes and benchmarking performance.

• Site EUI — on-site energy consumption ÷ gross floor area. Measured in kBtu/sq ft/year (US) or GJ/m²/year (metric).
• Source EUI — total raw energy required (including upstream generation and transmission losses) ÷ gross floor area. Used by ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.

A lower EUI indicates better energy efficiency. The national median EUI varies by building type: offices typically achieve 50–80 kBtu/sq ft/year; warehouses 20–40 kBtu/sq ft/year.

---

​

Site energy

The total energy consumed on-site during a period, measured at the utility meter. Includes energy purchased from the grid (from utility bills) plus on-site renewable generation consumed locally. Does not include upstream losses from electricity generation or transmission.

---

​

Source energy

The total raw fuel required to deliver energy to a building, including losses during generation, transmission, and distribution. Source energy is more comprehensive than site energy because it captures the full upstream impact. ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager uses source EUI for benchmarking because it enables fair comparison between buildings with different fuel mixes. Example: Delivering 1 kWh of electricity to a building requires approximately 3 kWh of raw fuel at the power plant (accounting for generation and transmission losses). So 1 kWh of site electricity = ~3 kWh of source energy.

---

​

Weather normalized energy

Energy consumption adjusted to reflect what it would have been under average weather conditions, removing the effect of unusually hot or cold weather. Uses degree days and a regression model of how the building’s energy use responds to temperature. Why it matters: Without weather normalization, a cold winter makes energy use look high and a mild winter makes it look low — masking the underlying efficiency trend. Weather normalized energy enables fair year-over-year comparisons.

---

​

Degree days

A measure of how much heating or cooling was needed during a period, based on outdoor temperature deviation from a base of 65°F (18°C).

• Heating Degree Days (HDD): Each day counts as the number of degrees the average temperature was below 65°F. More HDD = colder period = more heating needed.
• Cooling Degree Days (CDD): Each day counts as the number of degrees the average temperature was above 65°F. More CDD = hotter period = more cooling needed.

Example: A day with an average temperature of 40°F contributes 25 HDD (65 − 40 = 25). A day at 85°F contributes 20 CDD (85 − 65 = 20).

---

​

Baseline

A reference time period used for energy comparisons. When benchmarking improvements, the baseline is the earlier period against which the current period is measured. A meaningful baseline might be the 12 months before a retrofit, the prior calendar year, or a specific year required by a reporting framework.

---

​

Benchmark

Comparing a building’s energy performance against a reference standard — typically a peer group, a historical baseline, or a certification threshold. Nectar provides the structured consumption data that benchmarking platforms use.

---

​

ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager

The U.S. EPA’s free online platform for benchmarking commercial building energy and water performance. Buildings scoring 75 or higher on ENERGY STAR’s 1–100 scale may qualify for certification. Nectar can export structured consumption data directly to ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Related docs: ENERGY STAR integration

---

​

ENERGY STAR score

A 1–100 rating that measures how well a building performs compared to similar buildings nationwide, normalized for climate, size, and occupancy. A score of 50 = national median performance. A score of 75+ = eligible for ENERGY STAR certification (performs better than 75% of peers).

---

​

National median EUI

The median EUI for a given building type across the nation, derived from surveys like the U.S. EIA’s Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS). Buildings with an EUI below the national median use less energy per square foot than at least half of similar buildings.

---

​

Net metering

An electricity billing arrangement where on-site solar generation offsets consumption from the grid. The utility credits excess generation against consumption on the monthly bill. Net-metered bills show both gross consumption and a generation credit.

---

​

Peak demand

The highest rate of electricity consumption during a billing period, measured in kilowatts (kW). Typically the highest 15- or 30-minute average during the period. Utilities use peak demand to calculate demand charges.

---

​

Billing demand

The demand value used by the utility to calculate the demand charge on a bill. May equal the highest measured peak demand or be adjusted by a ratchet clause that considers demand from prior months (e.g., “billed demand = max of current month’s peak or 80% of the highest peak from the past 12 months”).

---

​

Time-of-use (TOU)

An electricity pricing structure where rates vary by time of day and season, reflecting the actual cost of producing electricity. Common TOU tiers: on-peak (highest), partial-peak, off-peak (lowest).

---

​

On-peak

The hours when electricity prices are highest — typically weekday afternoons and evenings when system-wide demand is greatest (e.g., 4–9 PM weekdays).

---

​

Off-peak

The hours when electricity prices are lowest — typically nights, early mornings, and weekends.

---

​

TOU breakdown

A section of a bill showing electricity usage split by TOU pricing tiers — on-peak kWh, partial-peak kWh, and off-peak kWh, along with the corresponding charges for each tier. Nectar extracts TOU breakdowns from bills.

---

​

Rate schedule

The specific pricing plan under which a utility account is billed. Also called a tariff or rate class. Commercial accounts often have multiple rate schedules available. Common types: flat rate, time-of-use rate, demand rate, tiered/block rate.

---

---

​

Carbon and Emissions Reporting

---

​

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions

Carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and other gases released into the atmosphere that trap heat. GHG emissions from utility consumption are quantified in CO₂e and classified by scope.

---

​

CO₂e (Carbon dioxide equivalent)

A standardized unit for expressing greenhouse gas emissions. Different gases have different warming potentials — methane is ~25× more potent than CO₂ over 100 years. CO₂e converts all gases to their equivalent CO₂ warming effect, enabling comparison. Typically expressed in metric tons tCO₂e or kg CO₂e.

---

​

Scope 1 emissions

Direct GHG emissions from sources owned or controlled by your organization. Examples: natural gas burned in on-site boilers, diesel burned in company vehicles, refrigerant leaks from on-site HVAC. Natural gas and fuel consumption data from Nectar is the primary input for Scope 1 calculations.

---

​

Scope 2 emissions

Indirect GHG emissions from purchased electricity, heat, steam, or cooling. These emissions occur at the power plant or generation facility, not at your building, but result from your energy purchases. Two accounting methods:

• Location-based: Uses average regional grid emission factors (e.g., eGRID)
• Market-based: Uses contract-specific factors or zero-emissions factors when RECs are purchased

Electricity consumption data from Nectar is the primary input for Scope 2 calculations.

---

​

Scope 3 emissions

Indirect GHG emissions from activities not directly owned or controlled by your organization — including employee commuting, business travel, supply chain, and waste disposal. Scope 3 is typically the largest category of emissions.

---

​

Emission factor

A coefficient converting energy consumption to GHG emissions. For example, the US average grid electricity emission factor is approximately 0.386 kg CO₂e per kWh (2022). Emission factors vary by fuel type, country, grid region, and year.

---

​

eGRID

The EPA’s Emissions & Generation Resource Integrated Database — provides regional electricity emission factors for grid electricity in the US, used to calculate Scope 2 emissions from electricity consumption.

---

​

ESG reporting

Environmental, Social, and Governance reporting — disclosure of a company’s performance in these three areas to investors, regulators, and the public. Utility consumption and carbon accounting data from Nectar is a core input for the environmental component of ESG reports.

---

​

Renewable Energy Certificate (REC)

A tradable instrument representing the environmental benefits of 1 MWh of electricity generated from a renewable source. You must own the REC to claim the electricity as green power in emissions reporting. RECs can be sold separately from the underlying electricity.

---

​

Green power

Electricity from renewable sources (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, biomass) where the environmental benefits (RECs) are owned by the purchaser. Purchasing green power can reduce Scope 2 emissions under market-based accounting.

---

​

Avoided emissions

The emissions reduction credited to on-site or purchased renewable energy. On-site solar panels “avoid” the grid electricity — and its emissions — that would otherwise have been used. Calculated as renewable energy generation × grid emission factor.

---

​

Waste diversion

The amount of waste redirected from landfill through recycling, composting, donation, or reuse. The waste diversion rate (diverted waste ÷ total waste) is a key sustainability metric. Higher diversion reduces methane emissions from landfill decomposition.

---

---

​

Data Processing and Methodology

Terms related to how Nectar processes, transforms, and aggregates utility data. For detailed explanations, see the Methodology section.

---

​

Calendarization

The process of transforming billing period data into calendar month data. Because billing periods rarely align with calendar months (a bill dated January 20 might cover December 21 – January 20), calendarization prorates usage across the months a billing period touches. Algorithm: Usage is spread evenly across the billing period, then attributed to each calendar month based on the number of overlapping days. Example: A bill with 3,100 kWh covering January 15 – February 14 (31 days) would attribute 1,700 kWh to January (17 days) and 1,400 kWh to February (14 days). See also: Billing period Docs: Calendarization methodology

---

​

Proration

Dividing a bill’s usage or cost proportionally based on the number of days that fall within a specific time period. Proration is the underlying mechanism for calendarization. Formula: Prorated value = Total value × (Overlap days ÷ Total billing period days) See also: Calendarization

---

​

Cost attribution

The process of allocating charges to specific meters when a bill covers multiple meters or service points. Nectar uses proportional allocation (by usage) for charges of the same commodity type, and equal allocation for account-level charges. Example: A $1,000 electricity charge covering two meters with 60$600 and $400 respectively. See also: Line items Docs: Cost attribution methodology

---

​

Exclusion

A meter setting that causes its usage to be subtracted from site totals rather than added. Used for scenarios like sub-metered tenants (where tenant usage should be removed from the main meter reading) or net metering exports. When to use: Only when you need to subtract usage from aggregations. For meters you simply want to ignore, use untracking instead. See also: Net metering, Tracked Docs: Exclusion handling

---

​

Implied metering

Deriving sewer (wastewater) usage from water consumption when the utility doesn’t report sewer volumes directly. Many utilities charge for sewer based on water usage but don’t report separate sewer consumption figures. Formula: Implied sewer = Water usage × Implied metering fraction The fraction (default 100%) accounts for water that doesn’t become wastewater (e.g., irrigation). See also: Water Docs: Implied metering

---

​

Network usage

For time-of-use (TOU) electricity bills, the sum of on-peak, off-peak, and shoulder usage. When TOU breakdown is available, network usage is preferred over a single net usage value for analytics. Formula: Network usage = On-peak + Off-peak + Shoulder See also: Time-of-use (TOU), On-peak, Off-peak

---

​

Active account

When multiple utility accounts cover the same service point (due to account consolidation or restructuring), the active account is the primary account used for analytics. Sub-accounts are linked to the active account, and their data flows through it to prevent double-counting. See also: Account, Account status Docs: Account organization

---

​

Data collection stop date

The date when a site was archived or soft-deleted. When set, meters at that site are excluded from active analytics, and bills dated after the stop date are not included in reporting. Historical data before the stop date is preserved. See also: Site

---

---

​

Data Quality and Validation

---

​

Anomaly

A detected irregularity in a bill or usage pattern — for example, a spike in consumption, a bill dramatically higher or lower than the historical average, or a gap in expected billing dates. Nectar flags anomalies automatically.

---

​

Flagged bill

A bill marked for review due to a suspected issue. See flagged bill in the Bills section above for full details.

---

​

Completeness

A data quality metric expressing how much of the expected utility data has been collected for a given period. Completeness is calculated as the ratio of complete months to total required months (excluding future periods), expressed as a percentage. It can be viewed at the site-utility, account, or meter level. The completeness page shows a coverage timeline — a visual grid where rows represent entities and columns represent billing periods. Each cell is marked as complete (✓), missing (✕), or future (·). Click any cell to open a detail sheet with contributing bills, meter breakdowns, usage history, and resolution actions. Severity tiers:

• Critical — 0–50% coverage
• Low — 50–75% coverage
• Fair — 75–95% coverage
• Good — 95–100% coverage

Example: A site with 80% completeness means 20% of expected billing periods are missing data for the selected reporting period. See also: Missing data, Data quality Docs: Data completeness

---

​

Coverage gap

A month or billing period where expected data was not collected for a specific entity (site-utility pair, account, or meter). Gaps are shown as red cells (✕) in the completeness timeline. Clicking a gap cell opens a detail sheet where you can inspect contributing bills, view meter-level breakdowns, see historical usage patterns, and take resolution actions (upload a bill, enter data manually, or navigate to Data Inventory). See also: Completeness, Missing data Docs: Data completeness

---

​

Missing data

Gaps in bill or usage history where expected data was not collected — for example, a month with no bill for a meter that normally bills monthly. Missing data reduces an entity’s completeness score and shows as a red cell in the coverage timeline. Common causes: Connection errors, utility portal outages, new meters not yet discovered, billing schedule changes. See also: Completeness, Coverage gap Docs: Data completeness

---

​

Estimated data

A billing period where Nectar has generated an estimate in place of an actual bill. Estimated values are derived from historical usage patterns and clearly marked so they are not confused with verified data. See also: Completeness, Missing data Docs: Data completeness

---

​

Not required

A billing period explicitly marked as not expected — for example, a site that was closed for renovation or a seasonal meter that only operates part of the year. Not-required periods do not count against an entity’s completeness score. See also: Completeness, Missing data Docs: Data completeness

---

​

Data quality

The platform section for reviewing anomalies, flagged bills, missing data, and completeness gaps. Data Quality is organized into two tools: the Issues dashboard for tracking connection and bill problems, and the Completeness page for visualizing coverage gaps across your portfolio. Docs: Data quality overview

---

---

​

Data Export and Integrations

---

​

Quick export

A one-time CSV export of usage or cost data, filtered by date range, sites, commodities, and other criteria. Available at Data Export → Quick Export.

---

​

Integration export

Sending utility data directly to a third-party platform — ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, Watershed, Metrio, Sinai, Sphera, or Unravel — in the format required by that platform.

---

​

Export history

A log of all previously completed exports, including the export type, date, status, and download link.

---

​

Metrio

A sustainability data management platform. Nectar can export consumption and cost data to Metrio. Docs: Metrio integration

---

​

Watershed

A carbon accounting and ESG reporting platform. Nectar can export consumption data to Watershed. Docs: Watershed integration

---

​

Sinai Technologies

An ESG data management platform. Nectar can export to Sinai. Docs: Sinai integration

---

​

Sphera

An ESG management platform. Nectar can export to Sphera. Docs: Sphera integration

---

​

Unravel

A sustainability analytics platform. Nectar can export to Unravel. Docs: Unravel integration

---

---

​

Platform and API

---

​

API key

A secret credential used to authenticate requests to the Nectar API. Generated in Settings → API Keys. Must be included as a Bearer token in the Authorization header of every API request. Keys are shown only once at creation — store them immediately. Docs: API getting started

---

​

Webhook

An HTTP callback that Nectar sends to a URL you configure when specific events occur — for example, when a bill is processed or a connection changes status. Webhooks enable real-time integration with your own systems. Docs: Webhooks

---

​

Sandbox

A test environment with sample data for exploring the platform and testing API integrations without affecting live production data. Docs: Sandbox testing

---

​

Upload

Manually providing a bill PDF, image, or CSV to Nectar for automated processing. Nectar’s AI processes uploaded documents the same way it processes documents collected via connections. Docs: Uploads

---

​

Manual entry

Directly typing bill data (dates, charges, usage amounts) into Nectar without uploading a file. Available at Data Input → Manual Entry.

---

​

Document

See Document in the Bills section above.

---

​

White label

A premium feature allowing organizations to apply custom branding — logo, colors, domain — to the Nectar platform. Docs: White label

---

​

Widget

An individual chart or data visualization in the Analytics section — for example, monthly electricity consumption, cost breakdown by site, or consumption trends.

---

​

SOC 2

A security compliance standard for service organizations. Nectar holds SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2 certifications. All utility credentials are encrypted at rest.

---

​

Pagination

Dividing large data sets into pages to improve performance and readability. Tables in Nectar use pagination — you can navigate between pages and change the number of rows shown per page.

---