Glossary

Here, you will find definitions and descriptions of many:

• GENI-related terms and phrases
• ACRONYMS, including hard-to-find electricity industry terms
• words and phrases coined by R. Buckminster Fuller
• Units of Measure
• General
• Energy Dictionaries

Send your comments and suggestions to info@geni.org

(don't forget to include links to references, the GENI site, etc.)

Index of Terms

Electricity

AC

Alternating Current

DC

Direct Current

EMF

Electromagnetic Field

HVAC

High Voltage Alternating Current

Minimum load capacity:

HVDC

High Voltage Direct Current

Minimum load capacity:

HVAC-light

High Voltage Alternating Current - light

Minimum load capacity:

International Connection

High voltage electricity transmission conection between two countries.

Minimum load capacity:

Links to other Electricity Glossaries

Simple electricty terms (©Atlantic Europe Publishing 1999): http://www.curriculumvisions.com/electricity/electricityGlossary.html

Glossary of Electricity Terms from the EIA (Energy Information Administration):
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epav1/glossary.html

Units of Measure

Watt

The basic unit of electric power, expressing the rate at which electric energy is being expended. Power in watts equals the current in amperes times the voltage in volts.

Abbreviation: W

MW

Megawatt (1,000,000 watts)

GW

Gigawatt (1,000,000,000 watts)

KWh

Kilowatt hour. 1000 watts applied for one hour or 1 watt applied for 1000 hours (1000 watt-hours) The watt-hour is a basic unit of work (power applied over a period of time).

TWh

Terawatt hour (1,000,000,000,000 watt-hours)

USD

United States Dollar (currency of the USA)

GENI

R. Buckminster Fuller

Dymaxion

"dy" (dynamic) +

"max" (maximum) +

"ion" (tension) (see Dymaxion Map)

General

ABB

Asea Brown Boveri

ADFD

Abu Dhabi Fund for Development

AED

Acedemy for Educational Development

AFCEA

Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association

Afreximbank

African Export-Import Bank

AFDB

African Development Bank

AID

Agency for International Development

APCTT

Asian and Pacific Center for Transfer of Technology

APDF

African Project Development Facility

APEC

Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC - Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

ASEAN

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

ASME

American Society of Mechanical Engineers

ASTD

American Society for Training and Development

ATAS

Advanced Technology Assessment System

BADEA

Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa

BASc

Bachelor of Applied Science

BBC

British Broadcasting Corporation

B. Med. Sci.

Bachelor of Medical Science

BOAD

African Western Bank of Development

BPA

Bonneville Power Administration

BS

Bachelor of Science

CABEI

Central American Bank for Economic Integration

CARICOM

Caribbean Community

CCIM

Certified Commercial Investment Member

CDB

Caribbean Development Bank

CEDPA

Centre for Development and Population Activities

CEPSI

Electricity Conference of East Asia and the Western Pacific

CFC

chlorofluorocarbon

CIDA

Canadian International Development Agency

CIER

Commission for Integration of Electricity

CIGRE

Conseil International des Grands Réseaux Électriques (French: International Council for Large Electric Systems; founded in 1921)

International Conference on Large High Voltage Electric Systems

CIS

Commonwealth of Independent States

CNN

Cable News Network

CO₂

Carbon Dioxide

COMECON

Council for Mutual Economic Assistance

COMESA

Common Market For Eastern And Southern Africa

DARPA

(United States) Defense Advanced Research Procurement Agency

DOE

United States Department of Energy

EBRD

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

ECO

Economic Cooperation Organization

ECOWAS

The Economic Community Of West African States

EIA

Energy Information Agency

EPRI

(United States) Electric Power Research Institute

EPS

Electric Power Systems

ERCOT

Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc.

ESCWA

United Nations Economic and Social Commssion for Western Asia

EU

European Union

FERC

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

FRCC

Florida Reliability Coordinating Council

GNP

Geographic Number Portability

Gross National Product (economics)

GRID

Global Resource Information Database

IAIGC

Inter-Arab Investment Guarantee Corporation

IDC

International Development Conference

IEEE

Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers

IEEE/PES

Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers Power Engineering Society

IFC

International Finance Corporation

IIASA

IInternational Institute for Applied Systems Analysis

IMR

Infant Mortality Rate

IRS

Internal Revenue Service (United States tax collection agency)

IPCC

Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change

IPCC(IEEE)

International Professional Communication Conference (IEEE)

ISES

International Solar Energy Society

JIIA

The Japan Institute of International Affairs

MB

Master of Business

MBA

Master of Business Administration

MITI

Ministry of International Trade and Industry

MRO

Midwest Reliability Organization

NASA

National Aeronautics & Space Administration (USA)

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NBA

Niger Basin Authority

NERC

North American Electric Reliability Council. (See also the Regional Reliability Councils: WECC, MRO, SPP, ERCOT, NPCC, RFC, SERC, FRCC.)

NGO

Non-Governmental Organization

NPCC

Northeast Power Coordinating Council

NSIA

National Security Industrial Association

NSPI

National Society of Performance and Instruction

OAS

Organization of American States

OAU

Organization of African Unity

OECD

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

OLADE

Energy Division and the Latin American Energy Organization

OPEC

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries

PAHO

Pan American Health Organization

Ph.D.

Doctor of Philosophy

PLO

Palestine Liberation Organization

PSA

Public Service Advertisement

RIIA

Royal Institute for International Affairs

RFC

ReliabilityFirst Corporation. (This is the successor organization to three former NERC regional reliability councils: the Mid-Atlantic Area Council, the East Central Area Coordination Agreement, and the Mid-American Interconnected Network.)

SAARC

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

SERC

Southeastern Electric Reliability Council

SID

Society for International Development

SCS

Society for Computer Simulation

SOWF

State of the World Forum

SPC

Secretariat of the Pacific Community

SPP

Southwest Power Pool, Inc.

SWF

State of the World Forum

TDP

Trade and Development Program

TV

Television

UCPTE

Union for the Co-ordination of Production and Transmission of Electricity

UK

United Kingdom

UN

United Nations

UNCPD

United Nations Conference on Population and Development

UNDP

United Nations Development Program

UNEP

United Nations Environmental Program

UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (since 1945; Paris, France)

UNSC

United Nations Special Commission

USSR

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (see CIS)

WBCSD

World Business Council for Sustainable Development

WEC

World Energy Congress

WECC

Western Electricity Coordinating Council

Y2K

Year 2000