Electricity

Ampere (Amp) - The unit that measures electric current flowing on a conductor. It is analogous to water flowing through a pipe. The greater the amperage, the larger the amount of current.

Base Load Generating Station - Units or power plants that are designed for near-continuous operation to generate electricity to serve the "base load" or customer demand.

Capacitor - An electrical device that maintains or increases voltage in power lines.

Circuit - A system of conductors through which electricity flows or is intended to flow.

Circuit Breaker - A protective device located on an electrical circuit designed to interrupt the flow of electricity at a given point.

Coal-Fired Power Plant - Power plant in which coal is burned to produce steam which spins a turbine to produce electricity.

Cogeneration - The simultaneous generation of electricity and thermal energy for industrial, commercial, heating, or cooling purposes.

Combustion Turbine (Combined-Cycle) - In a combined-cycle combustion turbine, air and fuel are mixed in a combustion process that powers a turbine generator. The exhaust gas heats water to make steam to spin an additional turbine generator.

Combustion Turbine (Simple-Cycle) - A simple-cycle combustion turbine mixes air and fuel in a combustion process that powers a turbine generator.

Commercial Customers - Small to medium-sized business customers who generally use a moderate amount of electricity, ranging from convenience stores and small offices to schools, colleges, government agencies, hospitals, and department stores.

Competition - A way of doing business that allows more than one supplier to sell electricity to customers at market prices.

Conductor - Material on which electricity will travel. Aluminum wire is the most common conductor used by electric utilities. Water is also a good conductor of electricity.

Demand - The rate at which electricity is delivered to (or by) a system, part of a system, or a piece of equipment. Generally, "demand" refers to electricity use by customers.

Deregulation - Separation of the supply of electricity from its delivery, with the supply portion being deregulated and opened to competition by an unlimited number of suppliers at market rates. The delivery or "wires" portion of the business and the rates charged for delivery remain regulated by state and federal authorities.

Distribution - The delivery of electricity along low-voltage wires to houses and businesses.

Fossil Fuel - Any naturally occurring fuel such as coal, oil, or natural gas, all of which are commonly used to generate electricity.

Generation - Electricity produced or generated at a power station using fuels that include coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, hydroelectric, solar, and wind.

Gigawatt (gW) - One billion watts (see "watt").

Gigawatt-hour (gWh) - One billion watt-hours (see "watt-hour").

Hydroelectric Power Plant - Power plant in which electricity is generated by turbines turned by running or falling water.

Industrial Customers - Business customers who generally use a large amount of electricity, typically those that are involved in a manufacturing process.

Kilovolt (kV) - One thousand volts (see "volt").

Kilowatt (kW) - One thousand watts (see "watt").

Kilowatt-hour (kWH) - One thousand watt-hours (see "watt-hour").

Load - (See "demand.")

Load forecast - The predicted demand for electric power.

Market-based rates - Prices for electricity that are established through individual negotiations between buyer and seller and not established by a regulator.

Megawatt (mW) - One million watts (see "watt").

Megawatt-hour (mWh) - One million watt-hours (see "watt-hour").

Natural Gas-Fired Power Plant - Power plant in which natural gas is burned to produce steam which spins a turbine to produce electricity.

Oil-Fired Power Plant - Power plant in which oil is burned to produce steam which spins a turbine to produce electricity.

Open Transmission Access - A condition where access to transmission facilities is offered equally to anyone who requests it.

Power Marketer - Business that sells power that it generates itself or purchases for resale.

Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUHCA) - Enacted in 1935, it regulates the corporate structure, securities issuances, and business activities of electric utilities.

Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) - Signed in 1978, it requires utilities to purchase electricity generated by qualifying non-utility producers.

Pumped-Storage Hydroelectric Power Plant - A power generating facility that uses falling water from an elevated reservoir to generate electricity during high demand, then pumps the water back to the reservoir during times of the day when demand is low.

Recloser - A protective device which automatically disconnects and then reconnects the flow of electricity when it detects trouble on an electric line. The timing (usually 2-5 seconds) is designed so that the problem may clear and the electric service will experience a brief interruption. If it operates several times and the cause of the trouble remains, the recloser will lock itself open, de-energizing the line until the trouble can be repaired by our lines workers.

Residential Customers - Customers who use electricity for household purposes.

Substation - An assemblage of equipment including transformers that switch or change the voltage of electricity. Normally, the substation reduces transmission voltage (138,000+) to distribution voltage (12,000).

Supplier - A company that generates electricity, or buys it from a generating company, and supplies it to customers.

Transformer - An electromagnetic device that changes the voltage of electricity. A "step-up" transformer increases voltage and a "step-down" transformer decreases voltage.

Transmission - The delivery of electricity from a power station by way of high-voltage transmission lines, usually mounted on large wooden poles or steel towers, out to communities where it is used by homes, businesses, and factories.

Unbundled Bill - An electric bill that "unbundles" or itemizes the costs of electric service. In states where electric service has been deregulated, customers receive unbundled bills.

Volt (V) - The unit that measures pressure or force that sends electricity along a conductor. It is analogous to water pressure in a pipe. The greater the voltage, the farther electricity will travel.

Watt (W) - The unit that measures the amount of work done by electricity. A 100-watt light bulb performs four times as much work as a 25-watt light bulb.

Watt-hour (Wh) - The amount of electricity required to operate a one-watt appliance for one hour. If a 100-watt light bulb burns for one hour, it uses 100 watt-hours of electricity (100 watts x 1 hour = 100 watt-hours).

Environment

Acid Rain - Rainfall occurring when atmospheric water vapor combines with oxides of sulfur and nitrogen to form sulfuric acid or nitric acid.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) - A colorless, odorless, nonpoisonous gas that is normally a part of the air. The burning of fossil fuels produces CO2.

Clean Air Act - The primary federal law governing the regulation of emissions into the atmosphere. Originally passed in 1963, it has been amended several times with major changes occurring in 1970 and 1990.

Fly Ash - Fine particles resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels.

Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) - Gases formed in part from atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen when combustion takes place under high temperature and pressure.

Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) - A colorless gas of compounds of sulfur and oxygen which is produced primarily by the combustion of fossil fuel.

Natural Gas

Automatic Shut-off Valve - Designed to shut off gas flow upon flame failure, pilot outage, over pressure or under pressure. All new appliance and water heaters have automatic shut-off valves.

City Gate - The point where the distribution company receives gas from a pipeline. Also reduces pressure from the transmission line.

Compressor Station - Located every 50-60 miles along a pipeline to boost the pressure. Natural gas moves at about 30 mph.

Curb Box/Valve - A vertical tube capped at ground level, usually located near the street with the company's name. Protects access to the underground shut-off valves on service lines.

Distribution Lines - Also called "mains." Pipes transporting gas to the service line.

Feeder - A main or supply line that delivers gas from the city gate.

House or Service Line - Located on a customer's property and owned by the customer. The meter is the "boundary" between the customer and the utility. The gas and all equipment (pipes, etc.) on the customer's side of the meter belong to and are the responsibility of the customer .

MCF - One thousand cubic feet of natural gas. The average customer uses 90 mcf per year.

Mercaptan - Odorant added to natural gas so it can be smelled. Without it, natural gas is odorless.

Regulator Station - Reduces gas pressure to a pressure required by the end-user. The closer natural gas gets to the customer, the smaller the pipe and the lower the pressure.

Tap - To make an opening in the pipeline for customer service.

Other Terms

Distributed Generation - Generally, the integrated or stand-alone use of small, load-specific generating units by end-use customers, other utilities, and third parties for peaking power or as backup generation.

Fiber Optics - Tiny wires bound together into larger wires capable of delivering large quantities of voice, video, or data messages from a provider through a network to customers.

Telecommunications - The delivery of information, such as voice, video, or data, over wires. This includes such services as telephone and internet.