The Kardashev scale, named for Nikolai Kardashev, is way to measure technological progress with energy use as a metric. In its original form, it has three discrete but progressive levels:
A Type I civilization, a planetary civilization, can use and store all of the energy available on its planet.
A Type II civilization, a stellar civilization, can use and control energy at the scale of its planetary system.
A Type III civilization, a galactic civilization, can control energy at the scale of its entire host galaxy.