Glossary

Energy glossary

747 definitions · page 2 of 13.

BASELINE FORECAST: A prediction of future energy needs which does not take into account the likely effects of new conservation programs that have not yet been started.
BATTERY: A device that stores energy and produces electric current by chemical action.
BENZENE: A type of colorless liquid hydrocarbon that can be used as a motor fuel. Its chemical symbol is C6H6.
BGP: The acronym for Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena, three electric, municipal utilities serving those southern California cities. The three are usually grouped statistically, though they are separate entitites.
BI-FUEL VEHICLE: A vehicle with two separate fuel systems designed to run on either fuel, using only one fuel at a time. These systems are advantageous for drivers who do not always have access to an alternative fuel refueling station. Bi-fuel systems are usually used in…
BI-GAS: A process being developed as a means of making synthetic gas from coal. The synthetic gas would be intended to substitute for natural gas in meeting industrial and home energy needs.
BIENNIAL REPORT: The report formerly issued by the California Energy Commission to the Governor and the Legislature every odd-numbered year assessing California's energy industry. (See also Commission reports page.) The Biennial Report is supported by four policy documents…
BILATERAL CONTRACT: A two-party agreement for the purchase and the sale of energy products and services.
BIOCONVERSION: Processes that use plants or micro-organisms to change one form of energy into another. For example, an experimental process uses algae to convert solar energy into gas that could be used for fuel.
BIODIESEL: a biodegradable transportation fuel for use in diesel engines that is produced through the transesterfication of organically- derived oils or fats. It may be used either as a replacement for or as a component of diesel fuel.
BIOMASS: Energy resources derived from organic matter. These include wood, agricultural waste and other living-cell material that can be burned to produce heat energy. They also include algae, sewage and other organic substances that may be used to make energy…
BIOSPHERE: The zone at and adjacent to the earth's surface where all life exists; all living organisms of the earth.
BITUMINOUS COAL: Soft coal containing large amounts of carbon. It has a luminous flame and produces a great deal of smoke.
BLACKOUT: A power loss affecting many electricity consumers over a large geographical area for a significant period of time.
BOILER: A closed vessel in which water is converted to pressurized steam.
BOILING WATER REACTOR: BWR) A nuclear power unit in which water used as a coolant is allowed to boil at the core. The resulting steam may be used to drive electric turbines.
BOTTLED GAS: The liquified petroleum gases propane and butane, contained under moderate pressure (about 125 pounds per square inch and 30 pounds per square inch respectively), in cylinders.
BOTTOMING CYCLE: A means to increase the thermal efficiency of a steam electric generating system by converting some waste heat from the condenser into electricity rather than discharging all of it into the environment.
BPA: (short for Bonneville Power Administration) - One of five federal power marketing administrations that sell low-cost electric power produced by federal hydro electric dams to agricultural and municipal users. BPA serves Idaho, Oregon, and Washington as well…
BREEDER: A nuclear reactor that produces more fuel than it consumes. The breeder, invented in the United States, is used as a power source in several European countries.
BRITISH THERMAL UNIT (Btu): The standard measure of heat energy. It takes one Btu to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit at sea level. For example, it takes about 2,000 Btu to make a pot of coffee. One Btu is equivalent to 252 calories, 778 foot-pounds…
BROKER: A retail agent who buys and sells power. The agent may also aggregate customers and arrange for transmission, firming and other ancillary services as needed.
BROWNOUT: A controlled power reduction in which the utility decreases the voltage on the power lines, so customers receive weaker electric current. Brownouts can be used if total power demand exceeds the maximum available supply. The typical household does not notice…
BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS: California Code of Regulations (California Code of Regulations), Title 24, Part 2, Chapter 2-53; regulating the energy efficiency of buildings constructed in California.
BUILDING ENVELOPE: The assembly of exterior partitions of a building which enclose conditioned spaces, through which thermal energy may be transferred to or from the exterior, unconditioned spaces, or the ground. [See California Code of Regulations, Title 24, Section 2-5302]
BULK POWER SUPPLY: Often this term is used interchangeably with wholesale power supply. In broader terms, it refers to the aggregate of electric generating plants, transmission lines, and related-equipment. The term may refer to those facilities within one electric utility, or…
BUNKER C FUEL OIL: A very heavy substance, left over after other fuels have been distilled from crude oil. Also called NO. 6 FUEL, it is used in power plants, ships and large heating installations. California's Bunker C fuel oil has high sulfur content, which causes air…
BUSBAR: In electric utility operations, a busbar is a conductor that serves as a common connection for two or more circuits. It may be in the form of metal bars or high-tension cables.
BUTANE: A hydrocarbon gas found in the earth along with natural gas and oil. Butane turns into a liquid when put under pressure. It is sold as bottled gas. It is used to run heaters, stoves and motors, and to help make petrochemicals.
BUY THROUGH: An agreement between utility and customer to import power when the customer's service would otherwise be interrupted.
BUYER: An entity that purchases electrical energy or services from the Power Exchange (PX) or through a bilateral contract on behalf of end-use customers.
CALIFORNIA ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT: The state law originally enacted in 1970, expresses the state's concern over California's threatened wildlife, defined rare and endangered wildlife, and gave authority to the Department of Fish and Game to "identify, conserve, protect, restore, and enhance…
CALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION: The state agency established by the Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act in 1974 (Public Resources Code, Sections 25000 et seq.) responsible for energy policy. The Energy Commission's five major areas of responsibilities…
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA: pronounced See' quah) Enacted in 1970 and amended through 1983, established state policy to maintain a high-quality environment in California and set up regulations to inhibit degradation of the environment.
CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION (CPUC): A state agency created by constitutional amendment in 1911 to regulate the rates and services of more than 1,500 privately owned utilities and 20,000 transportation companies. The CPUC is an administrative agency that exercises both legislative and judicial…
CALIFORNIA UTILITY RESEARCH COUNCIL (CURC): Public Utilities Code, Sections 9201-9203 requires the California Energy Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission, and the investor-owned utilities (Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric) to…
CALL-BACK: A provision included in some power sale contracts that lets the supplier stop delivery when the power is needed to meet certain other obligations.
CALORIE: One energy calorie is equivalent to 4.2 joules. Thus, it takes 500,000 calories of energy to boil a pot of coffee. One food calorie equals 1,000 energy calories.
CALORIE (energy calorie: small "c" - as opposed to food Calorie - capital "C") Any of several approximately equal values of heat, each measured as the quantity of heat require to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius from a standard initial temperature, esp…
CAPACITY: The amount of electric power for which a generating unit, generating station, or other electrical apparatus is rated either by the user or manufacturer. The term is also used for the total volume of natural gas that can flow through a pipeline over a given…
CAPACITY FACTOR: A percentage that tells how much of a power plant's capacity is used over time. For example, typical plant capacity factors range as high as 80 percent for geothermal and 70 percent for cogeneration.
CAPACITY RELEASE: A secondary market for capacity that is contracted by a customer which is not using all of its capacity.
CAPTIVE CUSTOMER: A customer who does not have realistic alternatives to buying power from the local utility, even if that customer had the legal right to buy from competitors.
CARBON DIOXIDE: A colorless, odorless, non-poisonous gas that is a normal part of the air. Carbon dioxide, also called CO2, is exhaled by humans and animals and is absorbed by green growing things and by the sea.
CARBON MONOXIDE (CO): A colorless, odorless, highly poisonous gas made up of carbon and oxygen molecules formed by the incomplete combustion of carbon or carbonaceous material, including gasoline. It is a major air pollutant on the basis of weight.
CARCINOGENS: Potential cancer-causing agents in the environment. They include among others: industrial chemical compounds found in food additives, pesticides and fertilizers, drugs, toy, household cleaners, toiletries and paints. Naturally occurring ultraviolet solar…
CATALYTIC CRACKING: A refinery process that converts a high-boiling range fraction of petroleum (gas oil) to gasoline, olefin feed for alkylation, distillate, fuel oil and fuel gas by use of a catalyst and heat.
CAULKING: Material used to make an air-tight seal by filling in cracks, such as those around windows and doors.
CCR: California Code of Regulations.
CELSIUS: A temperature scale based on the freezing (0 degrees) and boiling (100 degrees) points of water. Abbreviated as C in second and subsequent references in text. Formerly known as Centigrade. To convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, multiply the number by 9, divide by…
CERTIFICATION: process by which a motor vehicle, motor vehicle engine, or motor vehicle pollution control device satisfies the criteria adopted by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) for the control of specified air contaminants from vehicular sources (Health & Safety…
CFCs (CHLOROFLUOROCARBONS or CHLORINATED FLUOROCARBONS): A family of artificially produced chemicals receiving much attention for their role in stratospheric ozone depletion. On a per molecule basis, these chemicals are several thousand times more effective as greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide. Since they were…
CFM (cubic feet per minute): A measure of flow rate. CURIE - A measure of radioactivity.
CHEMICAL ENERGY: The energy generated when a chemical compound combusts, decomposes, or transforms to produce new compounds.
CHILLER: A device that cools water, usually to between 40 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit for eventual use in cooling air.
CIRCUIT: One complete run of a set of electric conductors from a power source to various electrical devices (appliances, lights, etc.) and back to the same power source.
CLEAN FUEL VEHICLE: is frequently incorrectly used interchangeably with "alternative fuel vehicle." Generally, refers to vehicles that use low-emission, clean-burning fuels. Public Resources Code Section 25326 defines clean fuels, for purposes of the section only, as fuels…
CLERESTORY: A wall with windows that is between two different (roof) levels. The windows are used to provide natural light into a building.
CLIMATE ZONE: A geographical area is the state that has particular weather patterns. These zones are used to determine the type of building standards that are required by law.
CLUNKERS: also known as gross-polluting or super- emitting vehicles, i.e., vehicles that emit far in excess of the emission standards by which the vehicle was certified when it was new.