Green Glossary

A little confused by the eco-buzz words you've been hearing? Read on to improve your green vocab:

Daily peak: The maximum amount of energy that electricity consumers demand in one day

Energy efficiency: Programmes to reduce the energy used by specific end-use devices and systems, typically without affecting the services provided

Global warming: An increase in the earth's surface temperature over time

Kilowatt - hour (kWh): Basic unit of electric energy equal to one kilowatt of power supplied to or taken from an electric circuit steadily for one hour: one kilowatt hour equals 100 watt-hours

Load shedding: Scheduled and controlled power cuts by rotating the available capacity among all customers when demand is greater than supply, so as to avoid total blackouts in the supply area

Mothballed: Plant (i.e. power stations) placed in long-term storage

Reserve margin: Difference between the net system capability and the system's maximum load requirements (peak load or peak demand)