Energy terms can sometimes be far from energising. Here, we'll define some common terms and acronyms that you may come across as you navigate True.
Agreed Capacity - an agreed amount of electrical load for a property, as stated in the property’s Connection Agreement with the local Distribution Network Operator (DNO). Can also be known as Availability (kVA), or Available Supply Capacity (ASC)
Air Source Heat Pump - the heat pump absorbs heat from the outside air and transfers the heat to the space to be heated in the heating mode. In the cooling mode the heat pump absorbs heat from the space to be cooled and rejects the heat to the outside air
Base Load - the level below which electricity demand never drops
Biomass / Biofuel - a fuel obtained from organic matter either directly from plants or indirectly from industrial, commercial, domestic or agricultural products. The use of biomass is classed as a 'carbon neutral' process because the carbon dioxide released during the generation of energy from biomass is balanced by that absorbed by plants during their growth
Capacity Charge - a set charge by the local Distribution Network Operator (DNO) for investment and maintenance of the electricity network, based on the Agreed Capacity of a property
Carbon Intensity - the amount of CO2 emitted for a given volume of electricity
Carbon Neutral - an activity or process that doesn’t add to the net amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. As the organisation or product will typically have caused some greenhouse gas emissions, it is usually necessary to use carbon offsets to achieve neutrality
CCA - Climate Change Agreement (CCA) is an agreement between the Government and a business user, whereby a reduced rate of Climate Change Levy is payable in return for a commitment by the user to achieve certain pre-determined targets for energy usage or carbon emissions
CCHP - Combined Cooling Heat and Power (CCHP) is a system in which fuel is used to simultaneously produce electrical (or mechanical) power plus recovere useful thermal energy for use in cooling & heating
CCL - Climate Change Levy (CCL) is a government-imposed tax to encourage reduction in gas emissions and greater efficiency of energy used for business or non domestic purposes. CCL is chargeable only on units/kWh used and not on any other component of the bill, e.g. standing charge
Combined Half Hourly (HH) Data Charge - costs associated with collecting and handling metering data from half hourly (HH) read meters
CHP - When electricity is generated, up to 60% of the energy can be wasted as lost heat. Combined Heat and Power (CHP) schemes are designed to recover most of this waste heat and use it to power a turbine and generate more electricity
Commodity Charge - a fee levied by National Grid on the quantity of gas transported through the system
Contract Price - price of a unit of gas or electricity which the shipper charges the customer
DA - Data Aggregator is the agent appointed to aggregate the meter reading data which is received from the Data Collectors (DC) and subsequently forwarded to the supplier
DC - Data Collectors (DCs) carry out Data Collection for Half Hourly (HH) Metering Systems. The DC is appointed by the Suppliers to retrieve and validate metering data and forward it, by Metering System, to the Data Aggregator
Dloss - charges for the loss of distributing power through the wires
DN - Distribution Network
DNO - Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) are responsible for operating the networks that connect electricity consumers to the national transmission system and provide interconnection with embedded generation. There are 14 regional distributors who maintain the electrical network
DSO - Distribution System Operator
DUOS - Distribution Use Of System (DUOS) charges are published costs made by each Distribution Company for delivering electricity from the Grid Supply Point to the customer’s premises
Electricity Meter - A device that measures the amount of electricity used
kVA - Availability (kVA) refers to the limit of capacity for a site. In theory, maximum demand should not exceed the agreed capacity at any time
kW - Kilowatt
kWh - Kilowatt Hour
Load - the energy demand experienced on a system
Maximum Demand - the highest level of electrical power consumption during a specific period of time
MOA - Meter Operator Agent
MW - Megawatt
MWh - Megawatt Hour
Net Zero - a target of completely negating the amount of greenhouse gases produced by human activity, achievable by reducing emissions and implementing methods of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
PV - Photovoltaic
RES - Renewable Energy Source
Solar Energy - radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy, and solar architecture
TNUoS - Transmission Network Use of System
TWh - Terawatt Hour
W - Watt