B

B2B
Business to Business

B2C
Business to Consumer

B2E
Business to Employee

Backup Power
Power provided by terms of the contract to a customer when normal source is unavailable.

Backfill
A term used in surface mining to reflect the practice of placing overburden behind the location where the coal seam has been removed, typically using a long reach dragline. The intent is to move the overburden as little as possible to reduce costs.

Backup Supply Service
Capacity and energy provided to a transmission customer to replace the loss of its generation sources and to cover that portion of demand that exceeds the generation supply.

Baghouse
An air pollution control device used to remove particulates from waste combustion gases at coal power plants.

Bandwidth
Space or capacity on a communications network. Marketing bandwidth is a rapidly growing business since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 effectively eliminated the barriers to competition among long distance, local exchange and cable service providers.

Base Load
The minimum amount of electric power or natural gas delivered or required over a given period of time at a steady rate. The minimum continuous load or demand in a power system over a given period of time usually not temperature sensitive.

Base Load Capacity
The generating equipment normally operated to serve loads on an around-the-clock basis.

Baseload Power Plant
A power plant or unit within a utility system that is intended to run constantly at near capacity levels – as much of the time as possible – to maximize system efficiency and minimize operating costs. Traditionally, coal and nuclear plants and some high efficiency steam electric plants have been considered as baseload plants.

Base Rate
A portion of the total electric or gas rate covering the general costs of doing business, excluding fuel and/or purchased power expenses. The charge is normally set through rate proceedings by appropriate regulatory agencies and fixed until reviewed at future proceedings.

Battery
An energy storage device made up of one or more electrolyte cells.

Bcf
The abbreviation for 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

Bilateral Contract
A two-way agreement between parties specifying terms for the purchase and sale of energy products and services.

Billing Cycle
The regular periodic interval used by a utility for reading the meters of a customer for billing purposes. Usually meters are scheduled to be read monthly or bimonthly.

Billing Demand
The demand charge that a customer actually pays for the reservation of capacity or facilities used, regardless of consumption. Billing demand may be based on a contract maximum, a contract minimum or a previous peak or maximum demand and, therefore, may not necessarily coincide with the actual measured demand for the billing period. Also referred to as Ratchet, or Ratcheted Demand Charge.

Biomass
Energy resources derived from organic matter. Organic matter that can be used as fuel to generate electricity. Some examples of biomass fuels are wood, crops, manure, and some garbage.

Biomass Gas
A medium Btu gas containing methane and carbon dioxide, resulting from the action of microorganisms on organic materials such as a landfill.

Bituminous Coal
A dense coal, older in geologic age than subbituminous coal, with a higher heating value and lower sulfur content. It is used for both steam and electricity production, as well as production of steel. Bituminous coal is the most abundant coal in active U.S. mining regions.

Black Start
A rapid start up of an off-line, idle, non-spinning electric generation source. Equivalent to the starting up of a car after it has not been used for a while.

Blackout
The emergency loss of the source of electricity serving an area caused by failure of the generation, transmission or distribution system.

Blanket Certificate (Authority)
General authorization granted by the FERC under NGA section 7 (c) for the recipient to engage in a FERC jurisdictional activity, such as transportation or sales of natural gas, on behalf of a general class of potential customers, without individual case-by-case review and approval.

Blanket Sales Certificate
The authorization granted to pipelines and/or their marketing affiliates, as well as other sellers, to sell natural gas for resale at market-based prices.

Boiler
A device for generating steam for power, processing or heating purposes, or for producing hot water for heating purposes or hot water supply. Heat from an electrical combustion source is transmitted to a fluid contained within the tubes in the boiler shell. This fluid is delivered to an end-user at a desired pressure, temperature and quality. Boilers are often classified as steam or hot water, low pressure or high pressure, capable of burning one fuel or a number of fuels.

Boiler Fuel
Fuels suitable for generating steam or hot water in large industrial or electrical generating utility applications.

Boiler Fuel Gas
Natural gas used as fuel for the generation of steam or hot water.

BPA
Bonneville Power Administration. A power marketing and electric transmission agency of the United States government with headquarters in Portland, Oregon.

British Thermal Unit (BTU)
The amount of heat energy necessary to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.

British Thermal Unit (Btu), Dry
A measure of the heating value of natural gas that is free of moisture, or contains less that 7 pounds per Mcf of water vapor. Condition under which natural gas is usually delivered for first sales.

British Thermal Unit (Btu), Saturated
A measure of the heating value of natural gas that is fully saturated with water vapor under standard temperature, pressure and gravity conditions. This standard of measure usually has little or nothing to do with the state in which the natural gas is actually delivered for first sales.

Brownout
The partial reduction of electrical voltages caused by customer demand being higher than anticipated or by the failure of the generation, transmission or distribution system. A brownout results in lights dimming and motor-driven devices slowing down.

Bubble Point
The temperature and pressure at which a liquid begins to convert to a gas.

Bulk Power Transactions
The wholesale sale, purchase, and interchange of electricity among electric utilities. Bulk power transactions are routinely used by electric utilities, under specified conditions, to improve reliability and reduce costs.

Bulk Electric System
The aggregate of electric generating plants, transmission lines and related equipment. The term may refer to those facilities within one electric utility or within a group of utilities in which the transmission lines are interconnected.

Bundled Sales Service
The sale and/or transportation of natural gas or electricity under one rate, which does not differentiate separate rate components for the sale, transportation, storage or gathering services associated with such sale or transportation.

Burner Capacity (Burner Rating)
The maximum Btu per hour that can be released by a burner while burning with a stable flame and satisfactory combustion.

Busbar
The point at which power is available for transmission. A conductor, or group of conductors, that serve as a common connection for two or more circuits, generally in the form of insulated cable, rigid rectangular or round bars or stranded overhead cables held under tension. The equivalent, in electric power terms, of the gas plant tailgate.

Busbar Cost
The cost of producing one kWh of electricity delivered to, but not through, the transmission system.

Butane (C4H10)
A hydrocarbon substance consisting of molecules composed of four atoms of carbon and ten atoms of hydrogen, used primarily for blending in high-octane gasoline, for residential and commercial heating and in manufacture of chemicals and synthetic rubber.

Butylene (C4H8)
A hydrocarbon substance consisting of molecules composed of four atoms of carbon and eight atoms of hydrogen, used primarily for blending in high-octane gasoline, for residential and commercial heating and in manufacture of chemicals and synthetic rubber.

Buyout
A swap is closed and settled at current price.