The Kardashev scale

.... is a method, proposed by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev in 1964,  of measuring a civilization's level of technological advancement based on the amount of energy it is able to use. 

The Kardashev scale has 3 categories:

• Type I civilization, also called a planetary civilization, can use and store all of the energy available on its planet.
• Type II civilization, also called a stellar civilization, can use and control energy at the scale of its planetary system.
• Type III civilization, also called a galactic civilization, can control energy at the scale of its entire host galaxy.