Glossary
A
Accumulation
A situation in which the market is dominated by buyers, who ‘accumulate’ the commodity they are trading.
ACQ
Annual contract quantities.
Acquisition
The purchase of one company by another.
Aggregation
A practice that allows marketers and local governments to pool the electric or natural gas consumption of multiple customers, or residents as in the case of local governments, in order to purchase the electricity or natural gas at a bulk rate.
Allegro
Energy Trading and Risk Management system.
American Style Option
An option which can be exercised by the buyer (holder) at any time during its life.
Ancillary Services
Any service required by a system operator to deliver electricity to the ultimate consumer. Ancillary services include balancing services, load following, or providing reactive power.
API
American Petroleum Institute.
ARA
(Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp / Europe) - Regional trading coal hub.
Arbitrage
The simultaneous purchase of a commodity/derivative in one market and the sale of the same, or similar, commodity/derivative in another market in order to exploit price differentials.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The simulation of human intelligence in machines, especially computer systems.
Associated Gas (Wet Gas)
Natural gas produced in association with crude oil. Non-associated gas, or dry gas, is natural gas that occurs on its own.
Asian Option (Average Price Option)
An option that is exercised against an average over a period of time.
At-The-Money Option (ATM)
An option whose exercise price is equal, or close to, the current price in the underlying market.
ATA
Actual Time of Arrival.
ATD
Actual Time of Departure.
AUNTL
(Newcastle / Australia) - Regional trading coal hub.
B
Backwardation
A market where the price for nearby delivery is higher than for further forward months. The opposite of backwardation is contango.
Balance Forward
The remaining amount that was not paid on the previous bill and was carried over to the current bill. This may include an unpaid balance, returned check charges, late payment fees, or other adjustments. If your previous bill has been paid in full, your balance forward will be zero dollars.
Barge
Vessel carrying oil, usually on rivers, containing between 8,000 and 50,000 bbl, or weighing 1,000 to 10,000 tonnes. In the US, barges can be up to, and occasionally over, 100,000 bbl in capacity.
Barrel
A volumetric unit of measure for crude oil and petroleum products. 1 barrel is 42 US gallons.
Base Load
The minimum amount of electric power 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.
Base Load Plant
A plant normally operated to take all or part of the minimum continuous load of a system, and which consequently produces electricity at an essentially constant rate.
Basis
The difference between the price of a spot commodity and a forward commodity; the difference between the price of a commodity at one location and another location.
Basis Swap
Basis swaps are used to hedge exposure to basis risks, such as locational risk or time exposure risk.
Bearish
The belief that the price is going to fall.
Bid
An indication of willingness to buy a specified amount of a commodity at a specific price.
Bilateral Contracts
Agreements between two parties for the purchase and sale of goods or services.
Black-Scholes
Options pricing theory derived by Fisher Black and Myron Scholes, based on the theory that price volatility is random around a given trend.
Blockchain
A decentralized and secure digital ledger that records transactions across many computers.
BP Energy
A global energy company that provides a range of energy products and services.
British Thermal Unit (BTU)
The quantity of heat required to raise one pound of water (about one pint) one degree Fahrenheit at or near its point of maximum density. A common unit of measurement for gas prices.
BRM
Romanian Energy Exchange.
Broker
An intermediary who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller.
Brown coal (lignite)
It is the poorest quality coal with a low energy content and is used almost exclusively for power generation, especially in Germany.
BSP
BSP Southpool, a power exchange in Slovenia.
BSPI
(Bohai-Rim Steam-Coal Price Index) - Regional trading coal hub.
Btu
British Thermal Units.
Budget Billing
Program offered by regulated electric companies that spreads out the cost of energy used during high-demand times of the year.
Bulk Power System
The electrical generation resources, transmission lines, and interconnections with neighboring systems, and associated equipment, generally operated at voltages of 100 kilovolts (kv) or above.
Bullish
The belief that the price is going to rise.
Burner-Tip
The point at which natural gas is used as a fuel.
C
Cal
Calories, Energy industry units.