Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Blackout - A total power failure over a large area, usually caused by the failure of major generating equipment or transmission facilities.

Brownout - A small, temporary voltage reduction implemented by a utility to conserve electric power during periods of high use.

British Thermal Unit (Btu) - Amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit.

Capacitor - A device that stores electrical charges and can be used to maintain voltage levels in power lines and improve electrical-system efficiency.

Capital Credits - The profit, or revenue, if any, left at the end of each fiscal year in excess of operating costs and expenses that is paid back to the members.

Circuit - Path that electricity follows.

Circuit Breaker - A switch that opens an electric circuit when a short occurs.

Conductor - A material that allows an electric current to pass through it. Also, the wire that carries electricity in an electric distribution or transmission system.

Cooperative - A member-owned business with membership open to those who use its services. Democratically controlled and operated on a nonprofit basis, a cooperative returns any margins or profits to members on the basis of patronage.

Cooperative Response Center (CRC) - Is Scenic Rivers Energy Cooperative's after-hours dispatch center. CRC, headquartered in Austin, Minnesota, is a national cooperatively owned and operated call center providing a wide array of call center services to over 110 cooperatives located throughout the United States.

Customer Choice - Means customers would have a choice of power suppliers. Customer choice is a term used interchangeably with retail wheeling in the electric utility industry.

Cycle - One complete series of changes of value of an alternating current or an electromagnetic wave.

Dairyland Power Cooperative - The power supply (generation and transmission) organization from which Scenic Rivers Energy Cooperative receives its energy. Dairyland Power is a federation of 24 locally-owned and operated electric cooperative systems like Scenic Rivers Energy Cooperative. These cooperatives are located in western Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, northeast Iowa and northwest Illinois.

Demand - The amount of electricity drawn from an electric system at a given time, measured in kilowatts.

Demand Charge - A charge for electricity based on the maximum amount of a system's electricity a customer uses.

Demand Side Management - A utility program aimed at reducing consumer use of energy through conservation or efficiency measures.

Deregulation - Reduction or elimination of government oversight of a segment of a private industry—–usually a basic public service such as electricity, telecommunications or transportation services.

Distribution System - The final delivery of the electric service to the consumer. The poles, wires, and transformers used to deliver electric energy from a power supplier to the consumer.

Electric Current - A flow of electrons through a wire or other electrical conductor. Electrons are negatively charged particles of matter.

Electric Energy - The flow of charged particles (electrons).

Electricity - Electric current or power that results from the movement of electrons in a conductor from a negatively charged point to a positively charged point.

Energy Efficiency Rating (EER) - A measure of how efficiently an appliance uses energy. Determined by dividing the Btu per hour output by the number of watts used. A higher EER means greater efficiency.

Fossil Fuel - Materials such as coal, oil or natural gas used to produce heat or power; also called conventional fuels. These materials were formed in the ground millions of years ago from plant and animal remains.

Fuel Cells - Devices that convert the chemical energy of fuels directly into electricity.

Fuse - A protective device for electric circuits containing a wire designed to melt and open the circuit under abnormally high electric loads.

Generation and Transmission Cooperative (G&T) - A power supply cooperative owned by a group of distribution cooperatives. G&Ts generate power or purchase it from public or investor-owned utilities, or from both.

Generation Plant - A plant that has generators and other equipment for producing electricity.

Generator - A machine that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy. Electricity is produced from magnets whirling inside coils of wire in the generator core.

Geothermal Energy - Natural heat contained in the rocks, hot water and steam of earth's subsurface; can be used to generate electricity and heat homes and businesses.

Green Power - Energy produced by renewable resources, typically defined as wind, solar, biomass, etc.

Greenhouse Gases - Carbon dioxide and other gases that reportedly contribute to the warming of the earth's atmosphere.

Grid System - An arrangement of power lines connecting power plants and consumers over a large area.

Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) - A device that instantly breaks the circuit when a short develops. Required for outlets that are used in bathrooms, kitchens, outdoors or wherever electrical equipment might come into contact with water.

Hertz (Hz) - An international measure of frequency or vibration equal to 1 cycle per second. The alternative current frequency used in North America is 60 hertz. In Europe and some other parts of the world it is 50 hertz.

High Voltage - Voltage in a power line higher than the 110 to 220 volts used in most residences.

Horsepower (hp) - A measure of power equal to about 746 watts.

Hydroelectric Plant (hydro) - A facility that produces electric energy by releasing water from a reservoir through generators.

Insulator (nonconductors) - Material that does not conduct electricity, such as glass, ceramics or rubber. It prevents the passage of electricity. All transmission and distribution wires are protected by insulators.

Interconnection - A tie permitting the flow of electricity between the facilities of two electric systems.

Investor-owned Utility (IOU) - A stockholder-owned electric utility company that may generate, transmit or distribute electric energy for profit.

Kilovolt (kv) - 1,000 volts. The amount of electric force carried through a high-voltage transmission line is measured in kilovolts.

Kilowatt (kW) - The basic unit of electric demand, equal to 1,000 watts. The average household demand is 10 to 20 kilowatts.

Kilowatt-hour (kWh) - A unit of energy of work equal to 1,000 watt-hours. The basic measure of electric energy generation or use. A 100-watt light bulb burning for 10 hours uses one kilowatt-hour.

Line - A carrier of electricity on an electric power system.

Line Loss - Electric energy lost in the process of transmitting it over power lines.

Load - The amount of electric power drawn at a specific time from an electric system, or the total power drawn from the system. Peak load is the amount of power drawn at the time of highest demand.

Load Factor - The ratio of average demand to peak demand. It is a measure of efficiency that indicates whether a system's electric use over a period of time is reasonably stable or if it has extreme peaks and valleys. A high load factor usually results in a lower average price per kilowatt-hour than a low load factor.

Megawatt (MW) - Equal to 1,000 kilowatts or 1 million watts.

Megawatt-hour (MWH) - Equal to 1,000 kilowatt-hours or 1 million watt-hours.

Member - Any person who receives service from Scenic Rivers Energy Cooperative. Sometimes used interchangeably with the term customer.

Meter - A device used to measure and record the amount of electricity used by a consumer. Off-peak power-electricity supplied during periods of low system demand.

Municipal Utility - Electric system owned by a city or other government entity to provide service for the people living within its boundaries.

National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC) - Is a not-for-profit cooperative whose mission is to provide its member utility systems with an assured source of low-cost capital, state-of-the-art financial products, and business management services. CFC is Scenic Rivers Energy Cooperative's financial lending institution.

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) - Is the national service organization dedicated to representing the national interests of cooperative electric utilities and the consumers they serve.

Nitrogen Oxides - Compounds of nitrogen and oxygen formed when fossil fuels burn.

Nuclear Energy - Energy produced from the splitting of atoms.

Nuclear Fission - The splitting of an atomic nucleus, resulting in the release of large amounts of energy; the basic process a nuclear reactor uses to provide heat for the generation of electricity.

Nuclear Fusion - The combination of two light nuclei to form a heavier nucleus with the release of some binding energy.

Nuclear Power - Electric energy generated using heat produced by an atomic reaction.

Nuclear Radiation - Invisible particles or waves given off by radioactive materials such as uranium.

Off-peak Power - Electricity supplied during periods of low system demand.

Ohm - The amount of resistance overcome by one volt in causing one ampere to flow. The ohm measures resistance to current flow in electrical circuits.

On-line - A generating plant that is operating. When an operational plant is not on-line, it is "down."

Outage - Interruption of service to an electric consumer because a power plant, transmission line or other facility is not operating.

Peak Demand - The greatest demand placed on an electric system; measured in kilowatts or megawatts; also, the time of day or season of the year when that demand occurs.

Peak Load - The amount of electric power required by a consumer or a system during peak demand; measured in kilowatts or megawatts.

Photovoltaics - Technology that produces electric power directly from the sunlight. A common application is in solar-powered pocket calculators, but various equipment remote from electric distribution lines also uses the technology.

Power - The term used for the product of voltage and current. It is measured in watts.

Power Marketer - A person or entity that buys power in bulk from one or more sources for resale to all classes of electric customers - residential, commercial and industrial users.

Power Supplier - A company that supplies the actual energy either by generating it or by arranging for its delivery to the consumer.

Restructuring - Changes in the electric utility industry as a result of deregulation trends. Also refers to the reorganization of an electric utility. Sometimes used interchangeably with the term deregulation.

Retail Wheeling - A system in which individual retail electric customers are allowed to choose their electric energy supplier. Also known as retail competition or customer choice.

Rural Utilities Service (RUS) - As a Federal credit agency in the United States Department of Agriculture, RUS provides a leadership role in lending and technical guidance for the rural utilities industries. RUS is the Federal "Point" agency for rural infrastructure assistance in electricity, water and telecommunications.

Single-phase Power - An electric circuit that consists of one alternating current.

Socket - A connecting place or junction for electric wires, plugs and light bulbs.

Solar Power - Energy from the sun's radiation converted into heat or electricity.

Static Electricity - Created when electrons "jump" from one atom to another. You can create static electricity by rubbing certain things together, such as a brush and your hair. Lightning is also an example of static electricity.

Stranded Cost - Costs incurred or investments made by an electric utility to ensure reliable electric service for the future, that with deregulation may not be recoverable in a competitive marketplace.

Substation - A place that contains transformers which lower electricity's voltage so that it can be used in our homes.

Surge Suppressor - An electronic device that protects electric equipment from short-term, high-voltage flows of electricity such as lightning strikes.

System Demand - The total amount of energy required to supply all consumers.

Three-phase Power - An electric circuit that consists of three separate currents delivered at one-third cycle intervals by means of a three-wire circuit; typically used to power large industrial motors that operate at 200 volts or higher.

Touchstone Energy - Is a national alliance of local, cooperatively owned utilities, providing high standards of service to large and small customers and their communities. Touchstone Energy is a brand that communicates the core values that cooperative customers have come to rely on - accountability, integrity, innovation and a longstanding commitment to their communities.

Transformer - A device used to raise or lower voltage in electric distribution or transmission lines. A step-up transformer raises voltage and a step-down transformer lowers voltage.

Transmission system - The flow, or transportation, of electricity from a generating plant over high-voltage power lines to a distribution system.

Turbine - A machine with blades attached to a central shaft. The pressure of water or steam on these blades causes the turbine to spin.

Turbine Generator - The combination of a turbine and a generator working together to produce power.

Unbundling - Refers to the restructuring of the operations of an electric utility into segments—–generation, transmission and distribution. An "unbundled" electric bill may itemize the charges associated with providing electricity to the consumer.

Voltage - The force which pushes electricity through a wire.

Watt - A unit of electrical power.

Wheeling - Transmitting bulk electricity from a generating plant to a distribution system across a third system's lines.