2005 Annual Report - Glossary

 

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Accenture Business Services for Utilities (ABSU)

Accenture Business Services for Utilities (ABSU) assumed responsibility for the performance of certain functions for BC Hydro on April 1, 2003. These functions include: Customer Services, Information Technology, Human Resources, Financial Systems, Purchasing, and Building and Office Services.

B.C. Energy Plan

A statement of B.C. government policy related to provincial energy matters issued by the Ministry of Energy and Mines in November 2002.

Biomass

Non-fossilized organic matter often used as fuel (e.g., wood waste).

British Columbia Transmission Corporation (BCTC)

The Crown corporation created by the government of B.C. in 2003 to plan, operate and maintain BC Hydro’s high-voltage transmission system.

British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC)

An independent regulatory agency of the provincial government operating under and administering the Utilities Commission Act. Its responsibility is the regulation of public utilities under its jurisdiction and to ensure customers receive safe, reliable service and non-discriminatory, reasonable rates.

Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)

The standard measure for greenhouse gas emissions, expressing the global warming potential of various gases over 100 years in terms of carbon dioxide equivalents.

CFT

Call for Tender.

Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN)

A certificate issued to a public utility by a regulatory body such as the British Columbia Utilities Commission, for the construction or operation of a generating plant.

CFC-11

Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), an ozone-depleting gas. CFC-11 is used in refrigerators, air conditioners, spray cans, solvents, foams and other applications.

cfs

Abbreviation for cubic feet per second.

CH4

Methane (natural gas).

CO

Carbon monoxide.

CO2

Carbon dioxide.

Clean Electricity

B.C. Clean Electricity is defined as “alternative energy technologies that result in a net environmental improvement relative to existing energy production.” Examples may include hydro, wind, solar, photovoltaic, geothermal, wave and biomass energy, as well as cogeneration of heat and power, energy from landfill gas and municipal solid waste, fuel cells and efficiency improvements at existing facilities.

Cogeneration

The simultaneous production of electrical or mechanical energy and useful heat energy from a single fuel source. For example, forest sector mills can burn wood waste in a boiler to generate electricity and use low-temperature steam from the generator in pulping processes.

COMA per Customer ($)

COMA per customer is defined as gross recurring capital expenditures (net of Telus recoveries) and operations, maintenance and administrative expenses divided by the total number of customers.

Customer-Based Generation

A BC Hydro initiative to buy electricity from large customers through a competitive bidding process.

Decile

Measured performance within the top 10 per cent or above the 90th percentile.

Decommission

To take a piece of equipment such as a generation or transmission facility permanently out of service.

Demand-Side Management (DSM)

Actions that modify customer demand for electricity, helping defer the need for new energy and capacity supply additions.

Engineer-in-Training (EIT)

A BC Hydro program that provides on-the-job training for qualified engineering graduates.

Energy Purchase Agreement (EPA)

The contract that defines the terms and conditions by which BC Hydro purchases electric energy from Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

Equipment Health Rating (EHR)

An objective, standardized condition assessment process for evaluating and reporting on equipment condition. EHR has been developed to evaluated six major equipment types (generators, exciters, turbines, governors, transformers and circuit breakers) and protective coatings.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

A U.S. agency that regulates the interstate transmission of natural gas, oil and electricity.

First Nation

Either an Aboriginal governing body, organized and established by an Aboriginal community, or the Aboriginal community itself.

First Quartile

Measured performance within the top 25 per cent of a study, group or class or, above the 75th percentile.

Gigawatt hour (GWh)

One billion watt hours; one million kilowatt hours (an amount of electric energy that will serve about 100 residential customers for one year).

Gigajoule (GJ)

One billion joules of energy. A joule (J) is a metric unit of measurement for heat energy.

Greenhouse Gas (GHG)

Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere and are thought to contribute to global climate change, or the “greenhouse effect,” including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).

GHG offset

A project that compensates for GHG emissions from one source by lowering, avoiding or capturing and storing emissions at another source.

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

A series of guidelines for sustainability reporting recommended by the GRI, a joint initiative of the U.S. non-government organization, Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies, and the United Nations Environmental Programme. Its goal is to enhance the quality, rigour and utility of sustainability reporting.

Graduate Technologist-in-Training (GTT)

A BC Hydro program that provides the skills, knowledge and experience required to become a fully qualified technologist in one of four areas: Customer Projects & Operations, Protection & Control, Engineering and Transmission Maintenance.

Green Power Certificates (GPCs)

Green Power Certificates are a Power Smart product offering green electricity which is 100% generated in B.C. to domestic customers on a pilot basis. GPCs represent the environmental and social attributes of green electricity, separated from the electrons themselves. Each Green Power Certificate has a face value of one megawatt hour of electricity generated at qualified green generation facilities. Powerex, BC Hydro’s power marketing subsidiary, is also piloting the sale of GPCs in the electricity marketplace.

ha

Hectares.

Heritage Contract

A 10-year, up to 49,000 gigawatt hour per year contract between BC Hydro’s Generation and Distribution Lines of Business to ensure BC Hydro customers benefit from BC Hydro’s existing low-cost hydroelectric and thermal resources.

Hydroelectricity

Electricity produced by harnessing the power of falling water or streamflow.

Integrated Electricity Plan (IEP)

The process of long-term planning of electricity generation, transmission facilities and demand-side resources to reliably meet forecast requirements.

Independent Power Producer (IPP)

Operator of a privately owned electricity generating facility that produces electricity for sale to utilities or other customers.

Integrated System

An interconnected network of transmission lines, distribution lines and substations linking generation stations to one another and to customers throughout a utility’s service area, but excluding isolated customers who are connected to free-standing generating plants.

ISO

Independent System Operator.

ISO 14001

The international standard for environmental management, introduced by the International Standards Organization (ISO) in 1996, and updated in 2004.

Kilotonne (kt)

One thousand metric tonnes.

Kilovolt (kV)

One thousand volts.

Kilowatt (kW)

One thousand watts; the commercial unit of measurement of electric power. A kilowatt is the flow of electricity required to light 10 100-watt light bulbs.

Kilowatt Hour (kWh)

One thousand watts used for a period of one hour; the basic unit of measurement of electric energy. On average, residential customers in B.C. use about 10,000 kWh per year.

Kyoto Protocol

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change entered into force in 1994. The Kyoto Protocol, which sets out more specific, binding commitments, followed in 1997. The Protocol, which still requires ratification by other countries, seeks to reduce overall emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2 (carbon dioxide), CH4 (methane), and N2O (nitrous oxide) by at least five per cent below 1990 levels in the commitment period of 2008 to 2012.

Large Final Emitter (LFE)

As defined by the federal government, LFE includes firms in both upstream and downstream oil and gas sectors, electricity generation and mining and manufacturing, such as cement plants and steel mills. The LFE Group has an aggregate greenhouse gas reduction target of 55 million tonnes per year.

Load Forecasting

Determining an estimate of load requirements for some future time.

Megatonne (Mt)

One million metric tonnes.

Megawatt (MW)

One million watts; one thousand kilowatts. A unit commonly used to measure both the capacity of generating stations and the rate at which energy can be delivered.

MLA

A Member of the Legislative Assembly. An elected member of the provincial legislature.

MWh

Megawatt hour (1,000 kilowatt hours/kWh).

N2

Nitrogen.

N2O

Nitrous oxide.

National Energy Board (NEB)

A Canadian federal regulatory agency.

Net Metering

A program that allows customers with their own generation facility to “bank” their surplus electricity with the electric utility. This banked surplus is then applied against the amount of electricity supplied by the utility.

NH3

Ammonia (anhydrous).

Non-Integrated Areas

Utility service areas that are not connected to the integrated system. These areas are supplied by local diesel generation or hydroelectric generation.

NOx

Oxides of nitrogen, including NO and NO2, expressed as NO2 equivalent.

Outage

A planned or unplanned interruption of one or more elements of an integrated system.

PCB

Polychlorinated biphenyl, any of several toxic compounds containing two benzine molecules in which hydrogens have been replaced by chlorine atoms, formed as waste in industrial processes.

Peak Capacity

The maximum amount of electrical power that generating stations can produce in any instant.

Peak Demand

The maximum instantaneous demand on a power system. Normally the maximum hourly demand.

PLT

Power Line Technician.

PowerOn

The power outage reporting system for BC Hydro customers that provides information on the location and expected duration of outages.

Power Smart

BC Hydro’s demand-side management (DSM) initiative to encourage energy efficiency by its customers. Launched in 1989, Power Smart includes a full range of DSM programs aimed at BC Hydro’s residential, commercial and industrial customers.

psi

Pounds per square inch.

Regional Transmission Organization (RTO)

A voluntary organization of transmission owners, operators and users currently developing in the western U.S. and Canada to facilitate wholesale transmission access.

Resource Smart

BC Hydro’s program of improvements to existing power generation facilities to increase supply-side efficiency through physical and/or operational modifications.

Right-of-Way (ROW)

Rights to make use of land owned by another to allow the construction and operation of electrical transmission or distribution facilities.

SAIFI

System Average Interruption Frequency Index (a reliability metric: average number of sustained interruptions that a transmission delivery point experiences per year).

SARI

System Average Restoration Index (a reliability metric: average restoration time for delivery point interruptions, in hours).

Self-Generation

Generation of electricity by an industry or commercial enterprise whose principal product is not electricity. Self-generation can reduce the amount of electricity purchased from the utility, or surplus electricity may be sold to the utility as a supply-side resource.

Spot Market

Real-time and day-ahead purchases and sales of electricity or other commodities; any market purchases or sales outside of long-term contracts.

Stepped Rate

A rate structure for transmission class customers, prescribed by the B.C. Energy Plan that will use different price levels so incremental consumption will be priced at incremental cost.

Stakeholder

Individuals, groups or representatives of groups who have an interest in BC Hydro’s activities. First Nations, municipal governments, environmental organizations and employees are a few examples of BC Hydro’s stakeholder groups.

Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF ₆)

A greenhouse gas used as an insulating and protective gas in transmission equipment.

Supply-Side Management

Actions that modify energy supply (e.g., load curtailment, time of use rates) to lower customer demand for energy particularly during periods of peak demand.

Tailwater

The water of a tailrace (a watercourse leading away from the turbine of a power station.

Thermal Generation

Generation of electricity by converting heat energy into electric energy through the controlled combustion of fossil fuels or biomass.

Triennial

Every third year.

Vancouver Island Energy Corporation (VIEC)

A wholly owned subsidiary of BC Hydro that was the proponent of the Vancouver Island Generation Project.

Vancouver Island Generation Project (VIGP)

A proposed electricity generation station on Vancouver Island that will use a combined cycle gas turbine.

Voluntary Challenge and Registry (VCR) Inc.

A non-government organization that encourages Canadian companies to voluntarily reduce GHG emissions and report on their progress.

Water Licence

The authority granted by the Comptroller of Water Rights of the Province of British Columbia to use, store and divert water.

Water Use Plan (WUP)

A plan, authorized under the B.C. Water Act, describing operating rules and boundaries for facilities on public waterways. BC Hydro’s Water Use Plans are developed from a multi-stakeholder review process designed to address the varied interests for water use (e.g., fish, recreation and habitat management) associated with existing and new electricity generation and storage facilities.