Energy Central Glossary

Valley Filling : Valley filling is a form of load management that increases or builds, off-peak loads. This load shape objective is desirable if a utility has surplus capacity in the off-peak hours. If this strategy is combined with time-or-use rates, the average rate for electricity can be lowered.
Variable Costs : Costs, such as fuel costs, that depend upon the amount of electric energy supplied.
Variable Prices : Prices that vary frequently. Prices that are not stable.
Vertical Integration : An arrangement whereby the same company owns all the different aspects of making, selling, and delivering a product or service. In the electric industry, it refers to the historically common arrangement whereby a utility would own its own generating plants, transmission system, and distribution lines to provide all aspects of electric service.
Volt : A unit of electrical pressure. It measures the force or push of electricity. Volts represent pressure, correspondent to the pressure of water in a pipe. A volt is the unit of electromotive force or electric pressure analogous to water pressure in pounds per square inch. It is the electromotive force which, if steadily applied to a circuit having a resistance of one ohm, will produce a current one ampere.
Volt-amperes : The volt-amperes of an electric circuit are the mathematical products of the volts and emperes of the client.
Voltage : Measure of the force of moving energy.

Receive Energy Central eNews & Updates