Glossary of industry terms
| Glossary of industry terms | |
|---|---|
| Ancillary control services (ACS) | services provided to the transmission system operator, which are indispensable for the proper functioning of the National Power System and ensure the keeping of required reliability and quality standards. |
| Achievable capacity | the maximum sustained capacity of a generating unit or generator, maintained continuously by a thermal generator for at least 15 hours or by a hydroelectric generator for at least five hours, at standardized operating conditions, as confirmed by tests. |
| ARA | USD hard coal price index in EU. Loco in harbours Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp |
| Availability factor | (working time + standby time in reserve) x 100 / period time |
| Balancing market | a technical platform for balancing electricity supply and demand on the market. The differences between the planned (announced supply schedules) and the actually delivered/off-taken volumes of electricity are settled here. The purpose of the balancing market is to balance transactions concluded between individual market participants and actual electricity demand. The participants of the balancing market can be the generators, customers for electricity understood as entities connected to a network located in the balancing market area (including off-takers and network customers), trading companies, electricity exchanges and the TSO as the balancing company. |
| Base, baseload | standard product on the electricity market: a constant hourly power supply per day in a given period, for example week, month, quarter or year |
| BAT | Best Available Technology |
| Best Practices | Documents „Best Practice for WSE Listed Companies 2016″ adopted by the resolution of the WSE Supervisory Board of October 13, 2015 and effective from January 1, 2016 until June 30, 2021 and „Best Practice for WSE Listed Companies 2016 2021″ adopted by the resolution of the WSE Supervisory Board of March 29, 2021 and effective from July 1, 2021. |
| Biomass | solid or liquid substances of plant or animal origin, subject to biodegradation, obtained from agricultural or forestry products, waste and remains or industries processing their products as well as certain other biodegradable waste in particular agricultural raw materials. |
| Black energy | popular name for energy generated as a result of combustion of black coal or lignite. |
| BREF | Best Available Techniques Reference Document |
| Capacity fee | An element of the electricity bill, charged to ensure energy security (constant electricity supply). |
| CCGT | Combined Cycle Gas Turbine |
| CSDDD | Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive |
| Circular economy | system that minimises the consumption of resources and the level of waste as well as emissions and energy losses by creating a closed loop of processes in which waste from one process is used as resources in other processes so as to maximally reduce the quantity of production waste |
| Co-combustion | the generation of electricity or heat based on a process of combined, simultaneous combustion in one device of biomass or biogas together with other fuels; part of the energy thus generated can be deemed to be energy generated with the use of renewable sources. |
| Co-generation | the simultaneous generation of heat and electricity or mechanical energy in the course of one and the same technological process. |
| Co-generation certificate | a document confirming the generation of electricity in high-efficiency cogeneration, issued by the ERO President, so-called red certificates (for energy generated from coal in cogeneration with heat) and yellow certificates (for energy generated from gas in cogeneration with heat) |
| Co-generation fee | an element of the electricity bill collected to finance the new support mechanism for high-efficiency cogeneration (auction system from 2019). |
| Constrained generation | the generation of electricity to ensure the quality and reliability of the national power system; this applies to generating units in which generation must continue due to the technical limitations of the operation of the power system and the necessity of ensuring its adequate reliability. |
| Distribution | transport of energy through distribution grid of high (110 kV), medium (15kV) and low (400V) voltage in order to supply the customers. |
| Distribution System Operator (DSO) | a power company engaging in the distribution of gaseous fuels or electricity, responsible for traffic in the gas or electricity distribution systems, current and long-term security of operation of the system, the operation, maintenance, repairs and indispensable expansion of the distribution network, including connections to other gas or power systems. |
| ERO | Energy Regulatory Office (pol. URE). |
| EUA | European Union Allowances: transferable CO2 emission allowances; one EUA allows to release one tonne of CO2. |
| EU Environmental taxonomy | Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2020 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 |
| EU ETS | European Union Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme) EU emission trading scheme. Its operating rules are set out in the ETS Directive, amended by the Directive 2009/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 23, 2009 (OJ EU L. of 2009, No. 140, p. 63—87). |
| EW | Hydroelectric power plant |
| FW | Wind farm |
| Generating unit | a technically and commercially defined set of equipment belonging to a power company and used to generate electricity or heat and to transmit power. |
| Green certificate | a document confirming the generation of electricity from renewable energy sources, issued by the ERO President |
| Green energy | conventional name for energy produced from renewable energy sources |
| GW | gigawatt, a unit of capacity in the SI system, 1 GW = 109 W. |
| GWe | one gigawatt of electric capacity. |
| GWt | one gigawatt of heat capacity. |
| HCl | hydrogen chloride. |
| Hg | mercury. |
| High Voltage Network (HV) | a network with a nominal voltage of 110 kV. |
| ICT | Information and Communications Technology, a concept encompassing techniques for processing, collecting or transmitting information in electronic form |
| IGCC | Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle |
| Installed capacity | the formal value of active power recorded in the design documentation of a generating system as being the maximum achievable capacity of that system, confirmed by the acceptance protocols of that system (a historical value, it does not change over time. |
| Installed capacity utilisation indicator | produced electricity x 100 / (period time x installed capacity) |
| IRGiT | Izba Rozliczeniowa Giełd Towarowych S.A. (commodities clearing house) |
| IRZ | Cold Intervention Reserve Service – service consisting of maintaining power units ready for energy production. Energy is produced on request of PSE S.A. |
| IOS | Flue Gas Desulphurization Installation |
| ITRE | European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Energy |
| JWCD | Centrally Dispatched Generating Unit – A generating unit connected to the coordinated 110 kV network, subject to central dispatch by PSE S.A. |
| KPI | Key Performance Indicator |
| KRI | Key Risk Indicator |
| KSP | the National Transmission System, a set of equipment for the transmission of electricity in the territory of Poland. |
| kV | kilo volt, an SI unit of electric potential difference, current and electromotive force; 1kV= 103 V. |
| kWh | kilowatt-hour, a unit of electric energy in the SI system defined as the volume of electricity used by the 1 kW equipment over one hour. 1 kWh = 3,600,000 J = 3.6 MJ. |
| kWp | a power unit dedicated to determining the power of photovoltaic panels, means the amount of electricity in the peak of production. |
| LNG | Liquefied natural gas |
| Low Voltage Network (LV) | a network with a nominal voltage not exceeding 1 kV. |
| LTC | long-term contracts on the purchase of capacity and electricity entered into between Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne S.A. and electricity generators in the years 1994-2001. |
| LTC Act | Act of June 29, 2007 on the principles of covering costs incurred by producers in connection with early termination of long-term contracts for the sale of electricity capacity and energy (Journal of Laws No. 130 item 905 of 2007) |
| LZO | Remote reading meters |
| ME | Energy Storage facility |
| Medium-voltage network (MV) | an energy network with a nominal voltage higher than 1 kV but lower than 110 kV. |
| MFW | Offshore wind farm |
| MIE | Minimum Energy Volumes |
| MSR | Market Stability Reserve (relating to CO2) |
| MW | a unit of capacity in the SI system, 1 MW = 106 W. |
| MWe | one megawatt of electric power. |
| MWt | one megawatt of heat power. |
| NH3 | ammonia |
| Nm3 | normal cubic meter; a unit of volume from outside the SI system signifying the quantity of dry gas in 1 m3 of space at a pressure of 101.325 Pa and a temperature of 0°C. |
| NOx | nitrogen oxides. |
| NPS | National Power System, a set of equipment for the distribution, transmission and generation of electricity, forming a system to allow the supply of electricity in the territory of Poland |
| N:W ratio | Ration of volume of overburden removed in m3 to the mass of extracted coal in tons |
| Operational Capacity Reserve (ORM) | ORM constitutes of generation capacities of active Production Schedular Units (JGWa) in operation or layover, representing excess capacity over electricity demand available to the TSO under the Energy Sale Agreements and on the Balancing Market in unforced generation |
| OTF | Organised Trading Facilities |
| Peak, peakload | a standard product on the electricity market; a constant power supply from Monday to Friday, each hour between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. (15-hour standard for the Polish market) or between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (12-hour standard for the German market) in a given period, for example week, month, quarter or year |
| PJ | Petajoule, a unit of work/heat in the SI system, 1 PJ = approx. 278 GWh |
| PPA | Power Purchase Agreement |
| Pumped storage power plants | special type of hydro-power plant allowing for electricity storage. It uses the upper reservoir, to which water is pumped from the lower reservoir using electricity (usually excessive in system). The pumped storage facilities provide ancillary control services for the national power system. In periods of increased demand for electricity, water from the upper reservoir is released through the turbine. This way, electricity is produced. |
| Property rights (certificates) | negotiable exchange-traded rights under green and co-generation certificates |
| Prosumer | end customer who purchases electricity under a comprehensive agreement and generates electricity only from renewable sources at a micro-installations for own purposes, unrelated to economic activities |
| PSCMI1 | Polish Steam Coal Market Index 1 – average level of prices of coal dust sold to industrial-scale power plants in Poland |
| PSCMI-2 | Polish Steam Coal Market Index 2 – average price level of energy fines sold on the domestic heat market |
| Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) | a composite indicator developed by Markit Economics to show the condition of the industrial sector; an indicator value above 50 points indicates an improvement in the situation in the sector |
| PV | photovoltaic |
| RAB | Regulatory Asset Base. |
| Red energy | popular name for electricity co-generated with heat. |
| Regulator | the President of ERO, fulfilling the tasks assigned to him in the energy law. The regulator is responsible for, among others, giving out licenses for energy companies, approval of tariffs for energy companies, appointing Transmission System Operators and Distribution System Operators. |
| Renewable Energy Source (RES) | a source of generation using wind power, solar radiation, geothermal energy, waves, sea currents and tides, flow of rivers and energy obtained from biomass, landfill biogas as well as biogas generated in sewage collection or treatment processes or the disintegration of stored plant or animal remains. |
| REPowerEU | the EC’s plan for energy saving, ecological production and diversification of energy supplies in connection with the disruption of the global energy market caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine |
| RES fee | The RES fee is used to ensure the availability of energy from renewable sources in the National Power System. The RES fee is used exclusively to cover the negative balance of renewable energy settlements between producers of this energy and sellers of electricity generated from renewable energy sources and the operating costs of Zarządca Rozliczeń S.A. (the administrator of RES fees). |
| RIG | Readiness Interventional Reserve – the power plant’s readiness to provide the active power generation service or its consumption at the request of PSE. |
| R&D | Research and Development |
| SAIDI | System Average Interruption Duration Index |
| SAIFI | System Average Interruption Frequency Index |
| SCR | Selective catalytic reduction |
| SPOT market | a market where transactions are executed no later than the second business day after they are ordered. Transactions made on the cash market are paid for at the time they are concluded – in this case, the capital is transferred. |
| Tariff | the list of prices and rates and terms of application of the same, devised by an energy enterprise and introduced as binding on the customers specified therein in the manner defined by an act of parliament |
| Tariff group | a group of customers off-taking electricity or heat or using services related to electricity or heat supply to whom a single set of prices or charges and terms are applied. |
| TGE | Towarowa Giełda Energii S.A. (Polish Power Exchange), a commodity exchange on which trading can take place in electricity, liquid or gas fuels, extraction gas, emission allowances and property rights whose price depends directly or indirectly on electric energy, liquid or gas fuels and emission allowances, admitted to commodity exchange trading |
| TPA | Third Party Access, the owner or operator of the network infrastructure to third parties in order to supply goods/services to third party customers |
| Transition fee | a distribution fee element charged to compensate power plants for losses resulting from early termination of LTC. |
| Transmission of electricity | transport of electricity through high voltage (220 and 400 kV) transmission network from generators to distributors. |
| Transmission System Operator (TSO) | a power company engaging in the transmission of gaseous fuels or electric energy, responsible for traffic in a gas or power transmission system, current and long-term security of operation of that system, the operation, maintenance, repair and indispensable expansion of the transmission system, including connections with other gas or power systems. In Poland, for the period from July 2, 2014 till December 31, 2030 Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne S.A. was chosen as a TSO in the field of electricity transmission. |
| TTF | Title Transfer Facility – gas futures index from the Dutch stock exchange ICE Endex Dutch |
| TWh | terawatt hour, a multiple unit for measuring of electricity unit in the system SI. 1 TWh is 109 kWh |
| Utility power plants | a category used by PSE S.A. in monthly reports on the operation of the National Power System and the Balancing Market – includes power plants and combined heat and power plants |
| Ultra-high-voltage network (UHV) | an energy network with a voltage equal to 220 kV or higher. |
| V (volt) | electrical potential unit, electric voltage and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI), 1 V= 1J/1C = (1 kg x m2) / (A x s3). |
| W (watt) | a unit of power in the International Systems of Units (SI), 1 W = 1J/1s = 1 kg x m2 x s-3. |
| Yellow energy | popular name for energy generated in gas-fired power plants and CCGT power plants. |
| ZDEE | Agreement on Securing Electricity Supplies |
| ZHZW | Commercial Management of Generation Capacities |