Alternating Current (AC) - An electric current that continually reverses its direction at regular intervals (standard is 120 reversals or 60 cycles per second).
Ampere (amps) - The basic unit of measurement to measure the rate of flow of an electric current through a conductor.
Biomass - Any organic (plant or animal) material which is available on a renewable basis, including agricultural crops and agricultural wastes and residues, wood and wood wastes and residues, animal wastes, municipal wastes, and aquatic plants.
CF – A cubic foot is a unit of volume used to reference water consumption on customer bills. One cubic foot is equal to 7.48 gallons.
CCF – One hundred cubic feet is a unit of volume used to reference natural gas consumption on customer bills. One CCF serves approximately one person per day.
Circuit - The complete path electricity follows from a source through a connection to an output device. For example: A circuit can be made from a battery (source) through a copper wire (connection) to a light bulb (output device) and back to the battery.
Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) - A fluorescent light bulb that has been compressed into the size of a standard-issue incandescent light bulb. Modern CFLs typically last at least six times as long and use at most a quarter of the power of an equivalent incandescent bulb.
Connection - The physical connection (e.g. transmission lines, transformers, switch gear, etc.) between two electric systems that allows the transfer of electric energy in one or both directions.
Current - A steady flow of electric charges through matter.
Demand - The rate at which electric energy is delivered to or by a system, either at a given instant or averaged over a designated period of time.
Direct Current (DC) - An electric current that flows in only one direction (e.g. battery).
Electric Cost Adjustment (ECA) – The mechanism that tracks and passes through to customers the actual cost of purchased fuel or purchased electricity. Springs Utilities can increase or decrease the ECA on a quarterly basis if actual costs vary from forecasted prices.
Electric System - Physically connected generation, transmission and distribution facilities operating as a unit to provide electricity to customers.
Energy Source - The primary source providing the power be converted to electricity through chemical, mechanical, or other means. Common energy sources include coal, petroleum, gas, water, uranium, wind, sunlight, geothermal, etc.
ENERGY STAR® – A joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping everyone save money and protect the environment through energy-efficient products and practices.
Fossil Fuel - Any naturally occurring fuel (formed in the earth from plant or animal remains), such as petroleum, coal and natural gas.
Gas Cost Adjustment (GCA) – The mechanism that tracks and passes through to customers the actual cost of the purchased natural gas. Springs Utilities can increase or decrease the GCA on a quarterly basis.
Geothermal Energy - The heat energy that is naturally stored below the earth’s surface.
Grid - The power network for electricity. This includes high-voltage transmission lines and substations.
Hydroelectric Power Plant - A power plant that uses moving water to power a turbine generator to produce electricity.
Hydropower – Energy that comes from moving water.
Incandescent Light bulb - An incandescent bulb is a type of electric light in which light is produced by a filament heated by electric current. The most common example is the type you find in most table and floor lamps.
Joule - A metric unit for measuring work and energy, named after James Joule. It is equal to the work done when a one ampere current is passed through a resistance of one ohm for one second.
Kilowatt (kW) - A unit of power, usually used for electric power or to energy consumption (use).
1,000 watts = 1 kW
kW and MW – Kilowatt (kW) and megawatt (MW) refer to the amount of electricity used or generated at a given moment.
Kilowatt Hour (kWh) - The use of 1,000 watts of electricity for one full hour.
1 kWh = ten 100 watt bulbs all burning at the same time for one hour.
10 bulbs x 100 watts each x 1 hour = 1 kWh
kWh and MWh - The work performed by one kilowatt of electric power in one hour. A kWh is the unit on which the price of electrical energy is based. A 1,000 watt light bulb operating for one hour would use one kWh.
Load - The power and energy requirements of users on the electric power system in a certain area or the amount of power delivered to a certain point.
Load Cycling – Load cycling programs are a proven strategy used by electric utilities across the U.S. to effectively reduce the high demand for electric power during hot summer days. Well established load cycling programs can be a significant contributor to: stabilizing electric rates, delaying the need to construct new electric power plants and lowering environmental impacts.
Megawatt - A unit of electrical power equal to 1000 kilowatts or one million watts.
Mercaptan – An odorant added to natural gas to make it smell like rotten eggs that helps people notice natural gas leaks.
Nonrenewable - Fuels that cannot be easily made or "renewed." We can use up nonrenewable fuels. Oil, natural gas, and coal are nonrenewable fuels.
Ohms - The unit of measurement of an object’s resistance to the flow of electricity.
Outage - The period during which a generating unit, transmission line, or other facility is out of service.
Passive Heating System - A means of capturing, storing, and using heat from the sun.
Photovoltaic Cells - A device, usually made from silicon, which converts some of the energy from light (radiant energy) into electrical energy. Another name for a solar cell.
Photovoltaic Conversion - The process by which radiant (light) energy is changed into electrical energy.
R-Value - A measure of a material's resistance to heat flow in units of Fahrenheit degrees x hours x square feet per Btu. The higher the R-value of a material, the greater its insulating capability.
Renewable Energy - Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, and biomass which are renewable (naturally replenished). We support renewable energy by using hydroelectric, wind and bio-gas power.
Solar Energy – Energy produced by the Sun’s light and heat.
Substation - Facility equipment on an electric system that switches, changes or regulates electric voltage.
Sustainability - The ability to maintain and preserve infrastructure and supply to meet the needs of current and future generations.
Switch - A device that opens or closes a circuit. This prevents or allows an electric current to flow.
Tariff – Official documents filed with the City of Colorado Springs that detail the services we offer and the associated rates.
Territorial Generation – Electric generation within Colorado Springs Utilities’ certificated service territory.
Transformer - A device which converts the generator's low-voltage electricity to higher-voltage levels for transmission to the load center.
Transmission (Electric) - The movement or transfer of electric energy over an electric system between the point it is supplied and the point it is delivered to customers.
Transmission Line - A set of conductors, insulators, supporting structures, and associated equipment used to move large quantities of power at high voltage, usually over long distances between a generating or receiving point and major substations or delivery points.
Transmission System (Electric) - An interconnected group of electric transmission lines and associated equipment for moving or transferring electric energy in bulk between points of supply and points at which it is transformed for delivery over the distribution system lines to consumers or is delivered to other electric systems.
Voltage - The force or pressure that moves electric current through a conductor (measured in volts).
Volt - A unit for measuring the force used to produce an electric current.
Watt - A unit for measuring electric power.
1 kW = 1,000 watts
1 Megawatt (MW) = 1,000,000 watts