Glossary
Allowed revenue—the
amount of money that a network company can earn on its regulated
business.[321]
Constraints—the
costs incurred through paying generators to vary their power output
to prevent unacceptable post fault transmission system operating
conditions.
Demand-side management—any
mechanism that allows a customer's demand to be intelligently
managed in response to events in the power system. Such events
would include a lack of network capacity or insufficient generation.
Distributed generation—also
known as embedded or dispersed generation. It is an electricity
generating plant connected to a distribution network rather than
the transmission network.
Distribution network operator—a
DNO is a company which operates an electricity distribution network,
which includes all parts of the networks from 132 kV to 230 kV
in England and Wales. In Scotland 132 kV is considered to be part
of transmission rather than distribution, so their operation is
not included in the DNOs' activities.
Distribution Price Control Review 5—the
next price control, determining the allowed revenues of distribution
network operators, which runs from 1 April 2010 until 31 March
2015.
Feed-in tariffs—the
price per unit of electricity that a utility or supplier has to
pay for renewable electricity from private generators. These are
used to encourage distributed renewable generation through private
generators.
GB SQSS—the Great
Britain Security and Quality of Supply Standard, which provides
the basic parameters and conditions to which the transmission
network is designed.
HVDC—High Voltage
Direct Current (exceeding 650 V).
Interconnector—Connection
between the assets of different Transmission Owners.
Licence conditions—an
obligation placed on the network companies to meet certain standards
of performance. The regulator has the power to take appropriate
enforcement action in the case of a failure to meet these obligations.
Net present value—the
valuation of future expenditures, incomes, assets etc in today's
terms (for example, taking account of interest payments over a
given length of time).
Price control—the
control developed by the regulator to set targets and allowed
revenues for network companies.
RPI-X—the form of
price control currently applied to, for example, energy network
monopolies. Each company is given a revenue allowance in the first
year of the control period. The price control then specifies that
in each subsequent year the allowance will move by 'X' per cent
in real terms.
Smart grid—an electricity
network that can intelligently integrate the actions of all the
users connected to it—generators, consumers and those that
do both—in order to efficiently deliver sustainable, economic
and secure electricity supplies.
System operator—the
entity responsible for operating the GB transmission system and
for entering into contracts with those who want to connect to
and/or use the transmission system. National Grid is the current
GB system operator.
Transmission owner—a
company which owns the electricity transmission network, which
includes all parts of the network above 132 kV in England and
Wales, and including 132 kV in Scotland.
Transmission price control review—this
establishes the price control for the transmission licensees.
The current price control began in April 2007 and will run until
the end of March 2013.
Vertically integrated company—a
company that is active in more than one level of an industry's
supply chain (for example, a firm that generates electricity and
also operates electricity distribution networks).
321 This Glossary includes selected terms from: Ofgem,
RPI-X@20 Emerging Thinking Consultation Document Glossary of
Terms, January 2010; and Electricity Networks Strategy Group,
Our Electricity Transmission Network: A Vision for 2020,
March 2009 Back
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