Glossary of electric industry, energy & cooperative terms

U

Unbundling
The separation of generation, transmission and distribution services offered by a utility. Traditionally grouped together under one rate, these services would be separately managed and billed in a deregulated utility industry.

Uniform System of Accounts
Prescribed financial rules and regulations established by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for utilities subject to its jurisdiction under the authority granted by the Federal Power Act.

URL
Uniform Resource Locator. It is a means of identifying an exact location on the Internet. For example, http://www.Webtrends.com/html/info/default.htm is the URL which defines the location of the page Default.htm in the /html/info/ directory on the NetIQ Corporation Web site. As the previous example shows, a URL is comprised of four parts: Protocol Type (HTTP), Machine Name (Webtrends.com), Directory Path (/html/info/), and File Name (default.htm).

Useful Thermal Output
The thermal energy made available for use in any industrial or commercial process, or used in any heating or cooling application, i.e., total thermal energy made available for processes and applications other than electrical generation.

Utility Plant
Accounting defines the "fixed assets" of a utility as "utility plant." Examples include Plant In Service, Plant Purchased or Sold, Plant In Process of Reclassification, Plant Leased to Others, Plant Held for Future Use, Completed Construction Not Classified, Construction Work in Progress, Plant Acquisition Adjustments, Other Electric Plant Adjustments and Other Utility Plant.

Utility Distribution Companies
The entities that will continue to provide regulated services for the distribution of electricity to customers and serve customers who do not choose direct access. Regardless of where a consumer chooses to purchase power, the customer's current utility, also known as the utility distribution company, will deliver the power to the consumer's home, business, or farm.

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Page last updated: Monday, October 24, 2011