Glossary of electric industry, energy & cooperative terms
W
Waste Heat Recovery
A system that uses a heat exchanger to capture waste heat, expelled by a central air conditioning unit, to heat water.
Wastewater
Water used in power plants for cleaning; stormwater runoff from coal piles or impervious surfaces. This water is retained at the power plant site and cleaned until it meets standards that allow it to re-enter the environment.
Watt
The basic unit of electric power. It is equal to the rate of energy transfer equivalent to one ampere flowing under one volt of pressure with a power factor of 100 percent. Watts are analogous to horsepower or foot-pounds (force) per minute of mechanical power.
Watthour (Wh)
An electrical energy unit of measure equal to 1 watt of power supplied to, or taken from, an electric circuit steadily for 1 hour.
Weather-stripping
Material such as thin spring metal, rolled vinyl tubing and gaskets, or felt used to stop the infiltration of air around movable building parts, like windows and doors. More info on weather-stripping...
Web Terminology
Wheeling Service
The movement of electricity from one system to another over transmission facilities of intervening systems. Wheeling service contracts can be established between two or more systems. The use of one utility system’s transmission facilities to transmit power to and from another system. Wheeling service allows a utility to transfer its power to another utility through an intermediate utility system. For this use, the intermediate system receives a wheeling charge, usually calculated as a flat mill-per-kilowatt-hour fee.
Under most wheeling service agreements, the utility owning the transmission facilities wheels (delivers) the exact amount of power and energy it receives from the generating utility’s facilities. If transmission losses occur, the wheeling utility is compensated for them through several methods.
Wholesale Competition
A system whereby a distributor of power would have the option to buy its power from a variety of power producers, and the power producers would be able to compete to sell their power to a variety of distribution companies.
Wholesale Customer
A customer who purchases all or part of their electricity from the electric utility at wholesale rates (set by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) for resale.
Wholesale Sales
Energy supplied to other electric utilities, cooperatives, municipals, and Federal and State electric agencies for resale to ultimate consumers.
Wholesale Power Market
The purchase and sale of electricity from generators to resellers (who sell to retail customers), along with the ancillary services needed to maintain reliability and power quality at the transmission level.
Wholesale Transmission Services
The transmission of electric energy sold, or to be sold, at wholesale in interstate commerce (from EPACT).
Wind Power
Energy can be extracted from the wind and used to generate electricity using any of a variety of types of wind turbines. Average wind speeds in excess of 10 miles per hour are needed. Florida’s annual average wind speed is about nine miles per hour. Wind power is being and has been used for many years to satisfy many small energy needs around the world, primarily where mechanical power is sought. (Windmills produce mechanical energy that can be used to pump water or run machines.) The power generated from wind is approximately proportional to the cube of the wind speed. Its advantages are that supply is inexhaustible and it is non-polluting. Disadvantages are aesthetic and lad use impact, large-scale application is of limited feasibility in Florida, and the need for storage/backup systems.
Wires Charge
A broad term which refers to charges levied on power suppliers or their customers for the use of the transmission or distribution wires.
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Page last updated:
Friday, March 5, 2010
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