3. Understanding Organized Electricity Markets and Efficiency Flashcards
Peak load
The demand (load) of the electricity system at its near maximum
Intermediate load
The portion of the load that predictably rises from the low to high point
Base load
The portion of the load that is constantly being demanded
Generation
Process of generating electric power from primary energy sources. Fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday
Transmission
Initial mass transport of the produced electricity to the region where the load is
Distribution
Final stage of power delivery where individual buildings are connected to the grid
Stranded Costs
cost of investments made previously that may have become redundant over time
Control Area
An electric power system or combination of electric power systems to which a common automatic control scheme is applied in order to
IOUs
An investor-owned utility or IOU is a business organization, providing a product or service regarded as a utility (often termed a public utility regardless of ownership), and managed as private enterprise rather than a function of government or a utility cooperative
RTOs
regional transmission organizations, responsible for transmission & distribution
Reliability
The likelihood that the asset will be in service when needed.
Intermittency
a particular type of resource availability risk relating to kinetic energies such as those from wind, sun, and wave sources.
Dispatchability
The utility’s ability to dispatch generators to meet the load
Resilience
The ability of the grid to withstand external effects without breaking down, including, but not limited to, external shocks.
FERC
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission – oversees wholesale generation, power and transmission
Hardening
Increasing the resilience of the grid. For example storm/weather hardening to protect from weather related outages, including physical hardening of key components - flood walls around transistors - or in general increase physical resilience of the transmission & distribution assets.
ISO
Independent System Operator: An independent organization that handles transmission and distribution assets, usually formed by regulations that break up larger utility monopolies
Load-following
generators that supply the increasing intermediate load
Operating reserves
Generating capacity available to the system operator within a short interval of time to meet demand in case a generator goes down or there is another disruption to the supply.
PUC
public utilities commission: a governing body that regulates the rates and services of a public utility
Reserve margin
A measure of available capacity over and above the capacity needed to meet normal peak demand levels
Spinning reserves
generation assets that are required to be available and deployed in synchronization to replace any unexpectedly lost generation
Vertically integrated
utilities that incorporate generation, transmission, and distribution systems
Smart Grid
an “intelligent” grid system designed to automate and self-regulate
