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Peak demand, also called peak load, refers to the maximum amount of electric demand created by a customer or a group of customers during...
Use of generation is often divided into three categories — baseload, which is generation run all 24 hours of the day; intermediate, which...
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Performance-based regulation, commonly called PBR, is an alternative or a modification to cost-of-service (COS) ratemaking. It is...
In regions with limited coal and/or natural gas supplies, utilities often make use of petroleum as a fuel for thermal power plants. In...
While we are used to thinking of electric voltage and current as being constant (for instance, receiving 120 V service) in reality the...
A phasor measurement unit, also called a PMU or a synchrophasor, is a key tool used on electric systems to improve operators’ visibility...
Certain materials produce an electric flow when they are struck by sufficient amounts of light. This is called the photoelectric effect....
Photovoltaic conversion generates electricity directly from sunlight. Certain materials have the property to produce electric flow when...
Photovoltaic, or solar, cells are semiconductor materials that, when struck by sufficient amounts of light, cause electrons to flow....
A potential transformer (PT) is a device that lowers the voltage going to metering equipment. It is similar to a current transformer...
Power factor is defined as the ratio of real power to apparent power. So the power factor in a circuit is determined by dividing watts by...
A power flow model, sometimes called a network model, is a mathematical representation of a bulk electric system or a distribution grid....
A power pool is an entity that handles scheduling and dispatch functions for a group of power plants owned by multiple entities. Power...
A power system stabilizer (PSS) is a control system installed on a generation unit that monitors variables such as current, voltage, and...
A price index is a formula for calculating the market price of a commodity based on one or more sources of pricing information. A basic...
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Price risk is the possibility that a commodity price change will cause financial losses for the buyer or seller of a commodity such as...
Another common over-the-counter (OTC) derivative is known as a price swap. Here someone holding an electric supply asset (either...
A prosumer is an electricity customer that both consumes and produces energy. Becoming a prosumer is enabled by technologies such as...
The first move toward restructuring of U.S. electricity markets occurred in 1978, when Congress passed PURPA. Passed during the 1970s...
Smaller municipal utilities and/or public utility districts (PUDs), often work together to own generation and transmission. They do so by...
