Also called acid precipitation or acid deposition, acid rain is precipitation containing harmful amounts of nitric and sulphuric acids formed primarily by nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned. It can be wet precipitation (rain, snow, or fog) or dry precipitation (absorbed gaseous and particulate matter, aerosol particles or dust).

A large potential natural gas customer that is willing to sign a long-term contract with a pipeline company for gas transportation service. The pipeline company needs anchor customers in order to provide the economic justification for constructing the project. Anchor customers tend to be large industrial facilities or electric generating facilities.

Ancillary services are those services necessary to support the transmission of energy from resources to loads while maintaining reliable operation of the transmission system. Ancillary services typically include operating reserves, regulation and frequency imbalance, and voltage support and control.

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 through chemical processes.

The Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities, constituted under the Public Utilities Act.

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.

The maximum power that a generating unit, generation station, or other electrical apparatus can supply, usually expressed in megawatts.

Location at which responsibility for natural gas transportation is transferred from the pipeline transmission company to the distributor, generally associated with a reduction in pipe size and pressure.

A generating facility that produces electricity and another form of useful thermal energy (such as heat or steam) used for industrial, commercial, heating, or cooling purposes.

An electric generating station that uses waste heat from its gas turbines to produce steam for conventional steam turbines.

The condition under which the transactions that market participants wish to implement exceed the transfer capability of the transmission grid. Congestion usually requires the system operator to adjust the output of generators, decreasing output in one area to relieve the constraint and increasing it in another to continue to meet customer demand.

With respect to market power analysis, any market that is open to outside competitors that would be able to limit the market power of a dominant player, whether or not such outside competitors currently exist or compete in that market.

The planning, implementation, and monitoring of utility activities designed to encourage consumers to modify patterns of electricity usage, including the timing and level of electricity demand. It refers only to energy and load-shape modifying activities that are undertaken in response to utility-administered programs. It does not refer to energy and load-shape changes arising from the normal operation of the marketplace or from government-mandated energy efficiency standards.

Refers to program activities that can interrupt consumer load at the time of annual peak load by direct control of the utility system operator by interrupting power supply to individual appliances or equipment on consumer premises. This type of control usually involves residential consumers. Direct Load Control excludes Interruptible Load and other Load Management effects.

The charge the customer pays for the local transportation (natural gas) or distribution service (electric) provided by the local distribution company (LDC).

A company engaged in distributing natural gas to end-users. Distributors control the gas between the city gate and the end-user’s meter. Distributors are frequently referred to as local distribution companies (LDC).

A residential, commercial, or industrial customer in the energy marketplace who buys energy for its own consumption and not for resale.

The emission control technique that utilizes a dry or wet limestone injection process to remove sulphur dioxide from flue gasses.

Green house gas / gasses.

An entity that owns and operates an electricity generation facility.

Investments in new generation or transmission facilities that are located on new sites, rather than at sites with existing facilities.

The increasing mean global surface temperature of the earth caused by gases in the atmosphere (including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and chlorofluorocarbon). The greenhouse effect allows solar radiation to penetrate but absorbs the infrared radiation returning to space.

Commercial process of marketing and selling the output of certain generation sources identified as "green" because they meet certain standards for being deemed environmentally preferable.

Ground-level ozone is the main ingredient in urban smog. In the presence of sunlight and heat, gaseous air pollutants react to produce ground-level ozone smog. Ground level ozone is not emitted directly. It is the result of a chemical reaction that happens in the atmosphere. The two main components of ozone are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). When these two chemicals are heated up in the air they form ozone.

The existing utility that serves customers, and in some instances may benefit from its existing customer relationships.

A system and market operator, who is independent of other market interests, i.e., has no ownership interest in the transmission facilities and no vested interest in specific market outcomes.

Two or more individual transmission systems that have one or more interconnecting tie lines.

An electricity meter that is able to record and track a customer’s electricity consumption over time so that the consumption in each unit of time can be matched with the cost of power during that period of time.

A standard unit for measuring electricity. Residential customers’ rates are usually expressed in cents per kilowatt-hour.

Metering capable of measuring the total usage or flow of kilowatt-hours on a continuing basis, but not capable of recording and tracking such usage over shorter intervals, such as every hour or half-hour.

Local Distribution Company. An entity that owns a distribution system for the local delivery of energy to consumers.

A streamlined regulatory method designed to speed up the process and reduce the cost while balancing the interests of the various parties and allowing the regulator to carry out its statutory duties.

The amount of electric power or natural gas volume delivered or required at any specific point or points on a system. The requirement originates at the energy consuming equipment of the consumer.

An approximation of the amount of energy typically taken during each hour by a consumer or class of consumers over a defined time, such as monthly, given the total amount of energy metered for that defined period. Load profiles are needed for consumers who do not have interval meters, and are used to allocate total kWh usage over the month to each hour, in order to perform settlements that are based on hourly prices.

The price at which a market clears, such that there are no further gains to be made from further trading.

The ability of a market entity to profitably exercise significant influence or control over prices or the terms and conditions of sale, through means other than superior competitive performance.

Unit of electrical power, used to measure the generating capability capacity of a generating station or the maximum demand of an electricity consumer.

A measure of the energy produced by a generating station over time: one megawatt of power produced for 24 hours provides 24 megawatt-hours of energy (as does 24 megawatts produced for one hour).

An electric generating facility that is built without any sales commitments.

Equipment that measures and registers the amount and direction of energy quantities over a period of time.

The rules that assure that all market participants have access to the market, the transmission system, distribution systems and ancillary services under the same terms and conditions, with no preferential treatment for those entities who may own, or are affiliated with the owners of, transmission system or distribution system assets.

Unburned fuel particles that form smoke or soot and stick to lung tissue when inhaled. A chief component of exhaust emissions from heavy-duty diesel engines.

Generating capability normally designed for use only during the maximum load period of a designated time interval.

Generating capacity typically used only to meet the peak demand, the highest demand for electricity during the day. Peaking capacity is typically provided by hydroelectric generators or gas-fired combustion turbine generators.

Any rate-setting mechanism that attempts to link rewards (usually profits) and penalties to desired results or targets.

A rate that applies to a particular area that does not vary by the distance between the receipt point and the delivery point. The Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline will have a postage stamp rate in New Brunswick because the transmission rates will be the same for gas delivered by the pipeline to any location in New Brunswick served by the mainline or any of the laterals.

Business entities engaged in buying and selling electricity, but which do not own generating or transmission facilities.

The projected sum that has to be paid for the next increment of product or service. The marginal cost of electricity is the price to be paid for kilowatt-hours above and beyond those supplied by available generating capacity.

Process of regulation whereby the regulator sets rates at a level that will cover operating costs and provide an opportunity to earn a reasonable rate of return on the invested property devoted to the business. Also known as Cost of Service Regulation.

Fine particles in air not only can impact human health but, because they scatter and absorb light effectively, also can affect the quality of life by impairing visibility. Impaired visibility in all directions over a large area is called "regional haze."

The oversight of a market by an administrative agency or regulator, including any intervention in the markets to set rates and other terms and conditions under which the regulated service must be provided. Traditional regulation attempts to put a monopoly under restraints to achieve prices (rates), output and investment levels comparable to those that would occur under a competitive market.

An entity that, through power of law or some other legitimate means, has the authority to impose regulation.

The degree of performance of the elements of the bulk electric system that results in electricity being delivered to customers within accepted standards and in the amount desired. Reliability may be measured by the frequency, duration, and magnitude of adverse effects on the electric supply.

A market in which electricity and other energy services are sold directly to consumers by competing suppliers. Also known as Direct Access.

An entity that purchases electricity for the purpose of selling electricity to a consumer or acting as agent or broker for a consumer or another retailer with respect to the sale of electricity.

A market in which goods are traded for immediate or near-immediate delivery. In many market designs, the market operator would operate and administer settlements for a spot market in electricity, in which suppliers could submit bids to sell and purchasers could submit offers to buy energy through a coordinated auction, with settlements based on market-clearing prices. Market participants are free to use the spot market to sell/purchase energy at market-clearing prices, as needed.

The market-clearing prices determined in a spot market and used as the basis for settlements for all purchases and sales in that spot market.

Costs that cannot be recovered from market prices. With respect to electricity competition, stranded investments are those assets owned by a utility that would become uneconomic in a competitive market.

Facility equipment that switches, changes, or regulates electric voltage.

The entity with the responsibility to monitor and control an electric system in real time. (The term can also refer to the individual at an electric system control centre who is monitoring and controlling the electric system in real-time).

Percentage of kWh’s consumed by the utility that was not ultimately billed to the customer. Losses can be due to line or transformation losses, errors in billing or billing estimates or theft of power.

The terms and conditions under which a service or product will be provided, including the rates or charges that users of service or product must pay. Tariffs are usually proposed by the service or commodity provider, and are subject to regulatory approval. Typically, the rates and terms for obtaining transmission service are set forth in a tariff.

The movement or transfer of electric energy over an interconnected group of lines and associated equipment between points of supply and points at which it is transformed for delivery to consumers, or is delivered to other electric systems. Transmission is considered to end when the energy is transformed for distribution to the consumer.

The breaking down of a bundled service into its component parts so that a customer can choose to purchase different components of the service that they require from different parties. When LDCs offered only bundled services, their customers could purchase gas or electricity only from the LDC. In an unbundled environment, the customer can choose to purchase its gas or electricity supply from any supplier it wants and the LDC provides delivery to the customer's meter. Additional unbundling may allow other parties to provide other components of service, such as billing, meter reading, and credit and collection services.

The use of an interconnected transmission system to implement electricity transactions that transmit power into (wheeling in), within, out of (wheeling out) or through (wheeling through) that system.

This refers to the market in which electricity and other energy services are sold to wholesalers/retailers/distributors (who in turn sell to retail or end-use customers). A wholesaler/retailer/distributor of power would have the option to buy its power from a variety of generators or suppliers, and the generators or suppliers would be able to compete to sell their power to a variety of wholesalers/ retailers/distributors.