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Frequently Asked Questions

Regulatory Asset

An intangible (deferred debt cost, accelerated depreciation, etc.) that appears on a regulated utility's balance sheet and that can be recovered from ratepayers under regulation

Tariff

The schedule of rates, terms and conditions that a utility submits to a state's public utilities commission for regulatory approval

Wholesale Wheeling

Buying transmission services from a utility to transport (wheel) electricity to another utility, non-utility generator or a wholesale customer

Bilateral Contract

The ability of a retail customer to purchase power supplies and/or transmission services directly from a supplier without going through a local utility; in electric restructuring, such a contract could establish the price for electricity over a specified duration and thus remove the risk associated with buying and selling into a spot market

Contingency

An unexpected failure or outage of a system that may include single or multiple components and may lead to simultaneous component outages

Direct Current

The flow of electricity that is controllable as to direction and amount, and does not oscillate in voltage or current

Generation

Conversion of nuclear, thermal, etc. energy into electricity

Island

A component of a transmission system (or several systems) that becomes separated from its interconnection because of the disconnection or failure of elements within the system

Merchant Transmission

Commercial transmission investments made in response to market-based incentives, with the full market risk and reward accruing to the investors