This Base Contract is entered into as of the following date: ______. The parties to this Base Contract are:

and

Duns Number: Duns Number:

Contract Number: Contract Number:

U.S. Federal Tax ID Number: U.S. Federal Tax ID Number:

Notices:

Attn: Attn:

Phone: Fax: Phone: Fax:

Confirmations:

Attn: Attn:

Phone: Fax: Phone: Fax:

Invoices and Payments:

Attn: Attn:

Phone: Fax: Phone: Fax:

Wire Transfer or ACH Numbers (if applicable):

BANK: BANK:

ABA: ABA:

ACCT: ACCT:

Other Details: Other Details:

This Base Contract incorporates by reference for all purposes the General Terms and Conditions for Retail Sale and Purchase of Natural Gas or Electricity published by the North American Energy Standards Board. The parties hereby agree to the following provisions offered in said General Terms and Conditions. In the event the parties fail to check a box, the specified default provision shall apply. Select only one box from each section:

Section
Transaction Procedure / Oral (covers topic 41 “oral communication)
Written (default) / Section
Method of Payment / Wire transfer (default)
Automated Clearinghouse Credit (ACH)
Check
Section
Confirm Deadline / 2 Business Days after receipt (default)
_____ Business Days after receipt / Section
Netting / Netting applies (default)
Netting does not apply
Section
Confirming Party / Seller (default)
Buyer
 / Section
Early Termination Damages / Early Termination DamagesApply (default)
Early Termination DamagesDo Not Apply
Section
Performance Obligation / Cover Standard (default)
Spot Price Standard / Section
Other Contract Setoffs / Other Contract Setoffs Apply (default)
Other Contract Setoffs Do Not Apply

Section

Contract Quantity and Obligation /  Full Service Requirements (default)
 Block Purchase
 Firm (default)
 Interruptible / Section
Choice of Law
Section
Payments Due Date / 25th Day of Month following Month of delivery (default)
_____ Day of Month following Month of delivery / Section
Confidentiality / Confidentiality applies (default)
Confidentiality does not apply
Section / Alternate Dispute Resolution
No Alternate Dispute Resolution (default)
(covers topic 48 “dispute resolution”) / Section
Taxes / Buyer Pays At and After Delivery Point
Seller Pays Before and At Delivery Point
Special Provisions Number of sheets attached:
Addendum(a): ______

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Base Contract in duplicate.

Party NameParty Name

By By

Name: Name:

Title: Title:

Base Contract for Retail Sale and Purchase of Natural Gas or Electricity

Section 1.PURPOSE AND PROCEDURES

These General Terms and Conditions are intended to facilitate purchase and sale transactions of either Gas or Electricity on a Firm or Interruptible basis. "Buyer" refers to the party receiving Gas or Electricity and "Seller" refers to the party delivering Gas or Electricity. The entire agreement between the parties shall be the Contract as defined in Section 2.7.

Section 2.Definitions

The terms set forth below shall have the meaning ascribed to them below. Other terms are also defined elsewhere in the Contract and shall have the meanings ascribed to them herein.

“Account” means, for each Facility, each account at such Facility to be included in a Transaction Confirmation and identified by a specific account designation number.

"Actual Usage" means the actual amount of energy (in MMBtu or kWh) used at each Account during any period of determination.

“Addendum” means each supplement to this Contract mutually agreed in writing by the parties.

"Affiliate" means with respect to any Person, any other Person controlling, controlled by or under the common control with the first Person. The terms "control" (including the terms "controlling", "controlled by" and "under common control with") will mean the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management of the policies of a Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise.

“Alternative Damages” means such damages, if applicable, expressed in dollars or cents per MMBtu or kWh, as the parties may agree upon in the Transaction Confirmation, in the event either Seller or Buyer fails to perform a Firm obligation to deliver Gas or Electricity in the case of Seller or to receive Gas or Electricity in the case of Buyer.

"Base Contract" means a contract executed by the parties that incorporates these General Terms and Conditions by reference; that specifies the agreed selections of provisions contained herein; and that sets forth other information required herein and any Special Provisions and addendum(s) as identified on page one.

"Business Day" means any day except Saturday, Sunday or Federal Reserve Bank holidays.

“Claims” means all disputes arising in connection with this Contract including all losses, liabilities or claims including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs of court from any and all persons, arising from or out of claims of title, personal injury or property damage from said Gas or Electricity or other charges thereon.

"Confirm Deadline" means 5:00 p.m. in the receiving party's time zone on the second Business Day following the Day a Transaction Confirmation is received or, if applicable, on the Business Day agreed to by the parties in the Base Contract; provided, if the Transaction Confirmation is time stamped after 5:00 p.m. in the receiving party's time zone, it shall be deemed received at the opening of the next Business Day.

"Confirming Party" means the party designated in the Base Contract to prepare and forward Transaction Confirmations to the other party.

"Contract" means the legally-binding relationship established by (i)the Base Contract and (ii) any and all binding Transaction Confirmations.

"Contract Quantity" means the quantity of Gas or Electricity estimated to be delivered and taken as agreed to by the parties in a transaction.

“Coordination Services” means services that permit the interface and coordination between electricity generation suppliers and DCs in connection with the delivery of electricity to serve customers located within the DC’s service or control area, including certain scheduling-related functions and reconciliation.

"Cover Standard", as referred to in [Section 3.2], means that if there is an unexcused failure to take or deliver any of the Contract Quantity pursuant to this Contract, then the performing party shall use commercially reasonable efforts to (i) if Buyer is the performing party, obtain Gas or Electricity, (or an alternate fuel if elected by Buyer and replacement Gas is not available) or (ii) if Seller is the performing party, sell Gas or Electricity, in either case, at a price reasonable for the delivery or production area, as applicable, consistent with: the amount of notice provided by the nonperforming party; the immediacy of the Buyer's Gas or Electricity consumption needs or Seller's Gas or Electricity sales requirements, as applicable; the quantities involved; and the anticipated length of failure by the nonperforming party.

"Day" means a period of 24 consecutive hours, coextensive with a "day" as defined by the Receiving DC or DC in a particular transaction.

“DC Charges” means all appropriate regulated DC costs, charges, and fees for Coordination Services, as defined by the applicable Generation Supplier Coordination Tariff, billed by the DC to the Account(s).

“DC Tariff” means the applicable state retail electric tariff setting forth the basic requirements for interactions and coordination between DCs and Electricity retail suppliers necessary for ensuring the delivery of competitive Electricity from such suppliers to their retail customers.

“Delivery Period” shall be the period from the service start month/year to the service end month/year during which deliveries are to be made as agreed to by the parties in a transaction.

“Delivery Point(s)" means the physical point(s) where the Receiving DC takes possession of the Gas or Electricity from Seller for delivery to Buyer or such other point(s) as specified in a Transaction Confirmation.

“Delivery Company” (DC) means all Gas gathering or pipeline companies, or local distribution companies, acting in the capacity of a transporter, transporting Gas for Seller or Buyer upstream or downstream, respectively, of the Delivery Point pursuant to a particular transaction, or a public utility, ISO, transmission provider, or any comparable entity, owning and/or controlling the facilities required for delivery of Electricity to the Buyer.

"EDI" means an electronic data interchange of business documents in conformance with ANSI X12 standards pursuant to an agreement entered into by the parties, specifically relating to the communication of Transaction Confirmations under this Contract.
"EFP" means the purchase, sale or exchange of Electricity as the "physical" side of an exchange for physical transaction involving Electricity futures contracts. EFP shall incorporate the meaning and remedies of "Firm", provided that a party’s excuse for nonperformance of its obligations to deliver or receive Electricity will be governed by the rules of the relevant futures exchange regulated under the Commodity Exchange Act.
“Electricity” means electric energy (expressed in kWh) and the related products and services that are identified in Transaction Confirmations.
“Facility(ies)” means Buyer’s physical properties or other business assets, including for example stores, restaurants, offices or other places of business, that will be the consumers of Gas or Electricity as specified in Transaction Confirmations under this Contract.
"Firm" means that either party may interrupt its performance without liability only to the extent that such performance to the extent prevented by Force Majeure or any type of curtailment ordered by the DC or ISO.
“Full Requirements Service” shall require that Seller be the sole source of Gas or Electricity for 100% of Buyer’s purchased supply needs including all services specified by the ISO or in the DC Tariff then in effect, as required to supply Buyer's demand at the Delivery Point(s) [except for Delivery Services, which are expressly excluded from Full Requirements Service].

“Gas” means any combination of hydrocarbons and noncombustible gases in a gaseous state, primarily consisting of methane.

“Governmental Authority” means any federal, state, local, municipal or other government, any governmental, regulatory or administrative agency, commission or other authority lawfully exercising or entitled to exercise jurisdiction over the parties or any transaction contemplated herein.
"Imbalance Charges" means any fees, penalties, costs or charges (in cash or in kind) assessed by DC or ISO for failure to satisfy balancing or nominations requirements at any Delivery Point.
"Interruptible" means that either party may interrupt its performance at any time for any reason, whether or not caused by an event of Force Majeure, with no liability.
"ISO" means any independent system operator, regional transmission operator, "transco," power pool or grid or control area operator established and providing services to the Accounts or other similar entity providing the same basic services as such entities and any successor thereto.
“kWh” (kilowatt-hour) means 1000 watt-hours of Electricity.
“MMBtu” means one million British thermal units, which is equivalent to one dekatherm.

"Month" means the period beginning on the first Day of the calendar month and ending immediately prior to the commencement of the first Day of the next calendar month.

“Off-Peak Hours” means hours not defined as On-Peak Hours.

“On-Peak Hours” means hours determined to be “on peak” by Buyer’s regional reliability council of the North American Electric Reliability Council, or any successor entity, governing the area in which Buyer’s Facilities are located, or, as agreed to by the parties and specified in a Transaction Confirmation.

“Receiving DC” means the DC receiving Gas at a Delivery Point, or absent such receiving DC, the DC delivering Gas at a Delivery Point.

“Scheduled Gas” means the quantity of Gas confirmed by DC(s) for movement, transportation or management.

"Rules" means as applicable, the interim or final requirements, tariffs, rules, orders, regulations and procedures authorized or established by the applicable Governmental Authority that affect the sale, transmission and distribution of energy and other services contemplated by this Contract.

"Spot Energy Price" [as referred to in Section 3.2] means the weighted average (weighted in accordance with the account’s hourly consumption or utility rate class consumption profile) of hourly Real Time prices for the trading hub indicated in the Transaction Confirmation and verified through the source also identified therein, plus all other elements of Full Requirements Service at their otherwise applicable net costs.

“System Losses” means, for purposes of Seller’s load calculations, the applicable system losses calculated by multiplying hourly kWh sales delivered to Buyer served at specified voltage levels by the applicable system loss percentage.

“Termination Option” means the option of either party to terminate a transaction in the event that the other party fails to perform a Firm obligation to deliver in the case of Seller or to receive and pay in the case of Buyer for a designated number of days during a period as specified on the applicable Transaction Confirmation.

"Transaction Confirmation" means a document, similar to the form of Exhibit A, setting forth the terms of a transaction formed pursuant to [Section 1] for a particular Delivery Period.

Unless the context requires otherwise, any reference herein to any document means such document and all schedules, exhibits, and attachments thereto as amended and in effect from time to time. Unless otherwise stated, any reference herein to any person shall include its permitted successors and assigns and, in the case of any Governmental Authority, any person succeeding to its functions and capacities. The words "hereof, "herein" and "hereunder" and words of similar import when used herein shall, unless otherwise expressly specified, refer hereto as a whole and not to any particular provision hereof. The singular shall include the plural and the masculine shall include the feminine and neuter. Whenever the term "including" is used herein in connection with a listing of items included within a prior reference, such listing shall be interpreted to be illustrative only, and shall not be interpreted as a limitation on or exclusive listing of the items included within the prior reference.

Section 3.Performance Obligation

In each Month Seller agrees to sell and deliver or cause to be delivered, and Buyer agrees to take delivery of and purchase, the Contract Quantity for a particular transaction for the Facility(ies) as specified in each Transaction Confirmation in accordance with the terms of this Contract. Sales and purchases will be on a Firm or Interruptible basis, as agreed by the parties in a Transaction Confirmation.

To the extent the Contract Quantity is not supplied by Seller or delivery not taken by Buyer, the nonperforming party shall satisfy the terms of this Contract financially in accordance with the following options. Buyer shall continue to receive and pay for DC delivery service.

The parties have selected either the “Cover Standard” or the “Spot Price Standard” as indicated on the Base Contract.
Cover Standard:
The sole and exclusive remedy of the parties in the event of a breach of a Firm obligation to deliver or receive Gas or Electricity shall be recovery of the following: (i) in the event of a breach by Seller on any Day(s), payment by Seller to Buyer in an amount equal to the positive difference, if any, between the purchase price paid by Buyer utilizing the Cover Standard and the Contract Price, adjusted for commercially reasonable differences in transportation costs to or from the Delivery Point(s), multiplied by the difference between the Contract Quantity and the quantity actually delivered by Seller for such Day(s); or (ii) in the event of a breach by Buyer on any Day(s), payment by Buyer to Seller in the amount equal to the positive difference, if any, between the Contract Price and the price received by Seller utilizing the Cover Standard for the resale of such Gas, adjusted for commercially reasonable differences in transportation costs to or from the Delivery Point(s), multiplied by the difference between the Contract Quantity and the quantity actually taken by Buyer for such Day(s); or (iii) in the event that Buyer has used commercially reasonable efforts to replace the Gas or Electricity or Seller has used commercially reasonable efforts to sell the Gas or Electricity to a third party, and no such replacement or sale is available, then the sole and exclusive remedy of the performing party shall be any unfavorable difference between the Contract Price and the Spot Price, adjusted for such transportation to the applicable Delivery Point, multiplied by the difference between the Contract Quantity and the quantity actually delivered by Seller and received by Buyer for such Day(s). Imbalance Charges shall not be recovered under this Section, but Seller and/or Buyer shall be responsible for Imbalance Charges, if any, as provided in Section 4.4. The amount of such unfavorable difference shall be payable five Business Days after presentation of the performing party’s invoice, which shall set forth the basis upon which such amount was calculated.
Spot Price Standard:
The sole and exclusive remedy of the parties in the event of a breach of a Firm obligation to deliver or receive Gas or Electricity shall be recovery of the following: (i) in the event of a breach by Seller on any Day(s), payment by Seller to Buyer in an amount equal to the difference between the Contract Quantity and the actual quantity delivered by Seller and received by Buyer for such Day(s), multiplied by the positive difference, if any, obtained by subtracting the Contract Price from the Spot Price; or (ii) in the event of a breach by Buyer on any Day(s), payment by Buyer to Seller in an amount equal to the difference between the Contract Quantity and the actual quantity delivered by Seller and received by Buyer for such Day(s), multiplied by the positive difference, if any, obtained by subtracting the applicable Spot Price from the Contract Price. Imbalance Charges shall not be recovered under this Section 3.2, but Seller and/or Buyer shall be responsible for Imbalance Charges, if any, as provided in Section 4.4. The amount of such unfavorable difference shall be payable five Business Days after presentation of the performing party’s invoice, which shall set forth the basis upon which such amount was calculated.

Notwithstanding Section 3.2, the parties may agree to Alternative Damages in a Transaction Confirmation executed in writing by both parties.