Glossary Of Terms

Alternating Current (AC) - An electric current that reverses its direction of flow periodically as contrasted to direct current (DC).

Capability - The maximum load that a generating unit, generating station, or other electrical apparatus can carry under specified conditions for a given period of time without exceeding approved limits of temperature and stress. In the context of this report the terms "Capability", "Net Summer Capability", and "Capacity" are interchangeable when referring to utilities.

Capacity - The full-load continuous rating of a generator, prime mover, or other electric equipment under specified conditions as designated by the manufacturer. This report uses net summer capability as its statistic for measuring electric generator capacity of utilities. Therefore, all discussion of electric generator capacity in this report is based on the use of net summer capability data.

Cogeneration - The sequential production of electrical energy and useful thermal energy from the same fuel source.

Cooperative (Cooperatively-Owned Electric Utility) - A group of persons who have organized a joint venture for the purpose of supplying electric energy to a specified area. Such ventures are generally exempt from the Federal income tax laws. Most cooperatives have been financed by the Rural Electrification Administration (REA).

Cooperative, Rural Electric (Co-op) - A consumer-owned utility established to provide electric service in rural portions of the U.S. Consumer cooperatives are incorporated under the laws of the 46 states in which they operate. A consumer cooperative is a non-profit enterprise, owned and controlled by the people it serves. These systems obtain most of their financing through insured and guaranteed loans administered by the REA and from their own financing institution, the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Financing Corporation.

Cooperative, Distribution-See Cooperative, Rural Electric.

Demand-Side Management (DSM) - The planning, implementation, and monitoring of utility activities designed to influence customer use of electricity in ways that will produce desired changes in a utility's load shape (ie, changes in the time pattern and magnitude of a utility's load). Utility programs falling under the umbrella of DSM include: load management, new uses of electricity, energy conservation, electrification, customer generation adjustments in market share, and innovative rates. DSM includes only those activities that involve a deliberate intervention by the utility to alter the load shape. These changes must produce benefits to both the utility and its customers.

Direct Current (DC) - Electricity that flows continuously in one direction as contrasted with alternating current (AC).

Electric Power Industry - The public, private, and cooperative electric utility systems of the United States taken as a whole. This includes all electric systems serving the public: regulated investor-owned electric utility companies; Federal power projects; State, municipal, and other government-owned systems, including electric public utility districts; electric cooperatives, including Generation and Transmission entities ("G and Ts"); jointly owned electric utility facilities, and electric utility facilities owned by a lessor and leased to an electric utility. Excluded from this list are the special purpose electric facilities or systems that do not offer service to the public. The term appears to be evolving to include any privately-owned generator that offers electricity for sale to anyone on the open market.

Electric Utility - An enterprise that is engaged in the generation, transmission, or distribution of electric energy primarily for use by the public and is the major power supplier within a designated service area. Electric utilities include investor-owned, publicly-owned, cooperatively-owned, and government-owned (municipals, Federal agencies, State projects, and public power districts) systems. An entity that solely operates qualifying facilities under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) is not considered an electric utility.

Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT) - Amends PUHCA to create a new class of independent power producers called exempt wholesale generators (EWGs) that are exempt from PUHCA. EPACT is designed to encourage competition in energy markets by significantly expanding the authority of FERC to order transmission access. It also makes it easier for utilities to operate unregulated subsidiaries that sell power to other utilities and industrial customers anywhere in the U.S. and even abroad. Profits from such sales are unregulated.

Exempt Wholesale Generator (EWG) - A class of independent power producer created by EPACT that is exempt from PUHCA corporate organizational restrictions. An EWG may generate electricity and sell power wholesale to utilities and other wholesale bulk power purchasers, such as rural electric cooperatives. Any entity, whether currently subject to PUHCA or not is permitted to own EWGs without limitation. For registered holding companies, approval from the Securities Exchange Commission is required for financing of EWGs and service sales and construction contracts involving EWGs.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) - An independent agency created within the Department of Energy (October 1, 1977), FERC is vested with broad regulatory authority. Virtually every facet of electric and natural gas production, transmission, and sales conducted by private investor-owned utilities, corporations or public marketing agencies was placed under commission purview through either direct or indirect jurisdiction if any aspect of their operations were conducted in interstate commerce. As successor to the former Federal Power Commission (FPC), the FERC inherited practically all of the FPC's interstate regulatory functions over the electric power and natural gas industries.

Fuel - Any substance that can be burned to produce heat; also, materials that can be fissioned or fused in a chain reaction to produce heat.

Gigawatt (GW) - One million KW.

Gigawatthour (GWH) - One million KWH.

Government-Owned Electric Utility - Municipally-owned electric systems and federal and state public power projects. Cooperatives are not included in this grouping. The term is intercangeable with Publicly-Owned Electric Utility.

Grid - The layout of an electrical distribution system.

Gross Generation - The total amount of electric energy produced by the generating units at a generating station or stations, measured at generator terminals.

Holding Company - Generally means a corporation (parent company) that directly or indirectly owns a majority or all of the voting securities of one or more electric utility companies which are located in the same or contiguous states.

Hydroelectric Plant - A plant in which the turbine generators are driven by falling water.

Independent Power Producer (IPP) - A class of non-utility generator that builds power plants mainly to supply and sell power to electric utilities.

Integrated Resource Planning - A process by which utilities and regulatory commissions assess the cost of, and choose among, various resource options.

Investor-Owned Electric Utility - A class of utility ownership that is privately owned and organized as a tax paying business, usually financed by the sale of securities in the capital market.

Kilowatt (KW) - One thousand watts.

Kilowatthour (KWH) - One thousand watthours.

Least-Cost Planning - See Integrated Resource Planning

Load (Electric) - The amount of electric power delivered or required at any specific point(s) on a system. The requirement originates at the energy-consuming equipment of the customers.

Load Management - Economic reduction of electric energy demand during a utility's peak generating periods. Load management differs from conservation in that load management strategies are designed to either reduce or shift demand from on-peak to off-peak times, while conservation strategies may primarily reduce usage over the entire 24-hour period. Motivations for initiating load management include the reduction of capital expenditure, circumvention of capacity limitations, provision for economic dispatch, cost of service reduction, system efficiency improvements, or system reliability improvements. Actions may take the form of normal or emergency procedures.

Megawatt (MW) - One million watts (1,000 KW).

Megawatthour (MWH) - One million watthours (1,000 KWH).

Net Generation - Gross generation less the electric energy consumed at the generating station for station use.

Net Summer Capability- The steady hourly output which generating equipment is expected to supply to system load exclusive of auxiliary power, as demonstrated by tests at the time of summer peak demand. See Capability.

Non-Utility Generator (NUG) - A corporation, person, agency, authority, or other legal entity or instrumentality that owns electric generating capacity and is not an electric utility. The entity generates on-site all or part of its electricity requirements, does not sell to the public, and may or may not sell electricity to electric utilities.

North American Electric Reliability Council (NERG) - Formed by the electric utility industry in 1968 to promote the reliability of their generation and transmission systems. NERC consists of nine Regional Reliability Councils and one affiliate encompassing virtually all of the electric systems in the United States, Canada, and the northern portion of Baja California, Mexico. Louisiana utilities belong to the Southwest Power Pool Reliability Council.

Operable - A generating unit is operable when it is available to provide power to the grid. For a nuclear unit, this is when it receives its full power amendment to its operating license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Peak Load - The demand at the instant of greatest load, usually determined from the readings of indicating or graphic meters.

Power - The rate at which energy is transferred. Electrical energy is usually measured in watts. The term is also used for a measurement of capacity.

Privately-Owned Electric Utility - See Investor-Owned Electric Utility.

Pubilicy-Held - Refers to investor-owned utilities whose common stock is owned by the general public and traded in the open market.

Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA) - Gave the Securities and Exchange Commission the authority to break up the large and powerful trusts that controlled the Nation's electric and gas distribution networks and to regulate the reorganized industry to prevent their return. In response to arguments that PUHCA's regulations were impediments to the development of an efficient electricity market, the Energy Policy Act of 1992 was enacted to encourage competition in energy markets.

Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) - One part of the National Energy Act, PURPA contains measures designed to encourage the conservation of energy, more efficient use of resources, and equitable rates. Principal among these were suggested retail rate reforms and new incentives for production of electricity by cogenerators and users of renewable resources. PURPA requires utilities to purchase power from qualifying facilities at the utility's avoided cost.

Publicy-Held - Refers to investor-owned utilities whose common stock is owned by the general public and traded in the open market.

Publicly-Owned Electric Utility - A class of ownership found in the electric power industry that includes those utilities operated by municipalities, and State and Federal power agencies. The term is interchangeable with Government-Owned Electric Utility.

Qualifying Facility (QF) - This is a cogenerator, small power producer, or non-utility generator that meets certain ownership, operating and efficiency criteria established by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) pursuant to PURPA, and has filed with the FERC for QF status or has self-certified. QFs are guaranteed that electric utilities will purchase their output at the utility's avoided cost. For additional information, see the Code of Federal Regulation, Title 18, Part 292.

Regional Transmission Group (RTG) - A proposed organization consisting of all generators of electricity that would primarily address transmission issues. Several RTGs are being organized, but none are functioning yet.

Renewable Energy Source - An energy source that is regenerative or virtually inexhaustible. Typical examples are wind, biomass, geothermal, solar, and water power.

Rural Electrification Administration (REA) - A credit agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture which assists rural electric and telephone utilities to obtain financing. REA was established by Executive Order No. 7037 of May 11, 1935, and given statutory authority by the Rural Electrification Act of 1936.

Small Power Producer - According to PURPA a facility limited to a capacity of 80 MW and generating, electricity using renewable energy as a primary source. In 1990 the capacity limit was removed for certain specific energy sources.

Southwest Power Pool (SPP) - One of nine Regional Reliability Council members of NERC. The SPP member systems serve customers in all or part of eight states in the Great American Southwest. They are Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mssissippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

System - The physically connected generation, transmission, distribution, and other facilities operated as an integral unit under one control, management, or operating supervision.

Total Net Generation Available to the Statewide Power Grid - Consists of utility net generation by plants within Louisiana plus power purchased by the utilities from non-utility generating sources (cogenerators, small power producers, IPPS, and EWGs) within the state. it does not include self generated power that is consumed on site by non-utility generators (NUGs) or power purchased by the utilities from out-of-state generating sources.

Total Statewide Generation or Net Generation by All Sources - Consists of utility net generation by plants within Louisiana plus the total generation of all non-utility generating sources with the state. The term includes self-generated power that is consumed on site by nonutility generators (NUGs).

Wheeling Service - The use of the transmission facilities of one system to transmit power and energy by agreement of, and for, another system with a corresponding wheeling charge.

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