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Electric Utility
An electric utility is a company in the electric power industry (often a public utility) that engages in electricity generation and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. The electrical utility industry is a major provider of energy in most countries. Electric utilities include investor owned, publicly owned, cooperatives, and nationalized entities. They may be engaged in all or only some aspects of the industry. Electricity markets are also considered electric utilities—these entities buy and sell electricity, acting as brokers, but usually do not own or operate generation, transmission, or distribution facilities. Utilities are regulated by local and national authorities. Electric utilities are facing increasing demandsBy Candace Lombardi, CNET. âUtilities: Green tech good for planet, bad for business” February 23, 2010. including aging infrastructure, reliability, and regulation. In 2009, the French company EDF was the world's larges ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electric Power Industry
The electric power industry covers the electricity generation, generation, electric power transmission, transmission, electric power distribution, distribution and electricity retailing, sale of electric power to the general public and industry. The commodity sold is actually energy, not power (physics), power, e.g. consumers pay for kilowatt-hours, power multiplied by time, which is energy. The commercial distribution of electricity started in 1882 when electricity was produced for electric lighting. In the 1880s and 1890s, growing economic and safety concerns lead to the regulation of the industry. What was once an expensive novelty limited to the most densely populated areas, reliable and economical electric power has become an essential aspect for normal operation of all elements of developed economies. By the middle of the 20th century, electricity was seen as a "natural monopoly", only efficient if a restricted number of organizations participated in the market; in some area ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operating Expenses
An operating expense, operating expenditure, operational expense, operational expenditure or opex is an ongoing cost for running a product, business, or system . Its counterpart, a capital expenditure (capex), is the cost of developing or providing non-consumable parts for the product or system. For example, the purchase of a photocopier involves capex, and the annual paper, toner, power and maintenance costs represents opex. For larger systems like businesses, opex may also include the cost of workers and facility expenses such as rent and utilities. Overview In business, an operating expense is a day-to-day expense such as sales and administration, or research & development, as opposed to production, costs, and pricing. In short, this is the money the business spends in order to turn inventory into throughput. On an income statement, "operating expenses" is the sum of a business's operating expenses for a period of time, such as a month or year. In throughput accounting, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electric Power
Electric power is the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt, one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with other SI units: thousands, millions and billions of watts are called kilowatts, megawatts and gigawatts respectively. A common misconception is that electric power is bought and sold, but actually electrical energy is bought and sold. For example, electricity is sold to consumers in kilowatt-hours (kilowatts multiplied by hours), because energy is power multiplied by time. Electric power is usually produced by electric generators, but can also be supplied by sources such as electric batteries. It is usually supplied to businesses and homes (as domestic mains electricity) by the electric power industry through an electrical grid. Electric power can be delivered over long distances by transmission lines and used for applications such as motion, light or heat with high effici ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rate Base (energy)
Rate base is the value of property on which a public utility is permitted to earn a specified rate of return, in accordance with rules set by a regulatory agency. In general, the rate base consists of the value of property as used by the utility in providing service. It may be calculated by any one or a combination of accounting methods, such as fair value, prudent investment, reproduction cost, or original cost. The rate base can include: cash, working capital, materials and supplies, deductions for accumulated provisions for depreciation, contributions in aid of construction, customer advances for construction, accumulated deferred income taxes, and accumulated deferred investment tax credits, all dependent on the method that is used in the calculation. An emerging question facing utility regulators in some states is whether cloud computing software should be included in rate bases. Conventional software, in which a company purchases and installs the program on hardware that it ow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rate Case
Utility ratemaking is the formal regulatory process in the United States by which public utilities set the prices (more commonly known as "rates") they will charge consumers. Ratemaking, typically carried out through "rate cases" before a public utilities commission, serves as one of the primary instruments of government regulation of public utilities. Overview Historically, many different classes of business have been classified as public utilities, and thus have been legally mandated to go through the ratemaking process in order to determine the allowable service charges for their industry. Although the classification of public utilities has changed over time, typically such businesses must constitute a ''de facto'' monopoly (or "natural monopoly") for the services they provide within a particular jurisdiction. Prominent public utilities that must utilize ratemaking to set rates include railroads, natural gas distribution, telecommunications, and electricity generation and dist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electricity Transmission
Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is distinct from the local wiring between high-voltage substations and customers, which is typically referred to as electric power distribution. The combined transmission and distribution network is part of electricity delivery, known as the electrical grid. Efficient long-distance transmission of electric power requires high voltages. This reduces the losses produced by strong currents. Transmission lines use either alternating current (HVAC) or direct current (HVDC). The voltage level is changed with transformers. The voltage is stepped up for transmission, then reduced for local distribution. A wide area synchronous grid, known as an "interconnection" in North America, directly connects generators delivering AC power with the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consumer Advocate For Customers Of Public Utilities
Jon B. Wellinghoff (born May 30, 1949) is an American attorney who served as the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) from 2009 to 2013. The FERC is a U.S. government agency that regulates the interstate transmission of electricity, natural gas, and oil. The FERC also reviews proposals to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and interstate natural gas pipelines and licenses hydropower projects. Wellinghoff's work in energy-related fields has included renewable integration, plug-in electric vehicles, and the modernization of the American electric grid. In November 2013, Wellinghoff stepped down from his post as the 13th FERC chairman. Early life and education Wellinghoff was born in Santa Monica, California, on May 30, 1949, and moved to Reno, Nevada, at the age of four. He attended the University of Nevada-Reno, earning a B.S. in mathematics in 1971. The following year he earned a master's degree in teaching mathematics from Howard University and st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alternative Energy
Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy sources are sustainable, some are not. For example, some biomass sources are considered unsustainable at current rates of exploitation. Renewable energy often provides energy for electricity generation to a grid, air and water heating/ cooling, and stand-alone power systems. Renewable energy technology projects are typically large-scale, but they are also suited to rural and remote areas and developing countries, where energy is often crucial in human development. Renewable energy is often deployed together with further electrification, which has several benefits: electricity can move heat or objects efficiently, and is clean at the point of consumption. In addition, electrification with renewable energy is more efficient and theref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Energy Policy Act Of 1992
The Energy Policy Act of 1992, effective October 24, 1992, (102nd Congress H.R.776.ENR, abbreviated as EPACT92) is a United States government act. It was passed by Congress and set goals, created mandates, and amended utility laws to increase clean energy use and improve overall energy efficiency in the United States. The Act consists of twenty-seven titles detailing various measures designed to lessen the nation's dependence on imported energy, provide incentives for clean and renewable energy, and promote energy conservation in buildings. Amendment of prior energy acts It reformed the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA) to help small utility companies stay competitive with larger utilities and amended the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) of 1978, broadening the range of resource choices for utility companies and outlined new rate-making standards. It also amended parts of the Federal Power Act of 1935 (Title VII). Titles The act addressed: *ener ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deregulation
Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a result of new trends in economic thinking about the inefficiencies of government regulation, and the risk that regulatory agencies would be controlled by the regulated industry to its benefit, and thereby hurt consumers and the wider economy. Economic regulations were promoted during the Gilded Age, in which progressive reforms were claimed as necessary to limit externalities like corporate abuse, unsafe child labor, monopolization, pollution, and to mitigate boom and bust cycles. Around the late 1970s, such reforms were deemed burdensome on economic growth and many politicians espousing neoliberalism started promoting deregulation. The stated rationale for deregulation is often that fewer and simpler regulations will lead to raised lev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stock Options
In finance, an option is a contract which conveys to its owner, the ''holder'', the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying asset or instrument at a specified strike price on or before a specified date, depending on the style of the option. Options are typically acquired by purchase, as a form of compensation, or as part of a complex financial transaction. Thus, they are also a form of asset and have a valuation that may depend on a complex relationship between underlying asset price, time until expiration, market volatility, the risk-free rate of interest, and the strike price of the option. Options may be traded between private parties in '' over-the-counter'' (OTC) transactions, or they may be exchange-traded in live, public markets in the form of standardized contracts. Definition and application An option is a contract that allows the holder the right to buy or sell an underlying asset or financial instrument at a specified s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Remuneration
Remuneration is the pay or other financial compensation provided in exchange for an employee's ''services performed'' (not to be confused with giving (away), or donating, or the act of providing to). A number of complementary benefits in addition to pay are increasingly popular remuneration mechanisms. Remuneration is one component of reward management. In the UK it can also refer to the automatic division of profits attributable to members in a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP). Types Remuneration can include: * Commission * Employee benefits * Employee stock ownership * Executive compensation ** Deferred compensation *Salary ** Performance-linked incentives *Wage * Mandatory compensation payable by an employer to an employee for the benefit obtained from a patent for an invention made by an employee United States For wage withholding purposes under U.S. income tax law, the term "wage" means remuneration (with certain exceptions) for services performed by an employee for an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
