Energy terminology · MLC-0117

Energy terms: P (210)

• Packaged air conditioning unitsUsually mounted on the roof or on a slab beside the building. (These are known as self-contained units, or...
• Packaged unitsUnits built and assembled at a factory and installed as a self-contained unit to heat or cool all or portions...
• Parabolic dishA high-temperature (above 180 degrees Fahrenheit) solar thermal concentrator, generally bowl-shaped, with...
• Parabolic troughA high-temperature (above 180 degrees Fahrenheit) solar thermal concentrator with the capacity for tracking...
• Paraffin (oil)A light-colored, wax-free oil obtained by pressing paraffin distillate.
• Paraffin (wax)The wax removed from paraffin distillates by chilling and pressing. When separating from solutions, it is a...
• Paraffinic hydrocarbonsSaturated hydrocarbon compounds with the general formula C_nH_(2n+2) containing only single bonds. Sometimes...
• ParentA firm that directly or indirectly controls another entity.
• Parent and its Consolidated EntitiesA parent and those firms (if any) that are affiliated with the parent entity for purposes of financial...
• Parent companyAn affiliated company that exercises ultimate control over a business entity, either directly or indirectly...
• Partial requirements consumerA wholesale consumer with generating resources insufficient to carry all its load and whose energy seller is...
• ParticulateA small, discrete mass of solid or liquid matter that remains individually dispersed in gas or liquid...
• PartingA layer of rock within a coalbed that lies roughly parallel to the coalbed and has the effect of splitting...
• Passenger-miles traveledThe total distance traveled by all passengers. It is calculated as the product of the occupancy rate in...
• Passive solar heatingA solar heating system that uses no external mechanical power, such as pumps or blowers, to move the...
• Payables to municipalityThe amounts payable by the utility department to the municipality or its other departments that are subject...
• Payment method for utilitiesThe method by which fuel suppliers or utility companies are paid for all electricity, natural gas, fuel oil...
• PBR1. Performance-Based Rates
• PCBPolyChlorinated Biphenyl
• Peak capacity of an LNG export facilityThe volume of LNG produced under optimal operating conditions, including modifications to production...
• Peak day withdrawalThe maximum daily withdrawal rate (Mcf/d) experienced during the reporting period.
• Peak demandThe maximum load during a specified period of time.
• Peak kilowattOne thousand peak watts.
• Peak loadThe maximum load during a specified period of time.
• Peak load monthThe month of greatest plant electrical generation during the winter heating season (Oct-Mar) and summer...
• Peak load plantA plant usually housing old, low-efficiency steam units, gas turbines, diesels, or pumped-storage...
• Peak megawattOne million peak watts.
• Peak wattA manufacturer's unit indicating the amount of power a photovoltaic cell or module will produce at standard...
• Peaking capacityCapacity of generating equipment normally reserved for operation during the hours of highest daily, weekly...
• PeatPeat consists of partially decomposed plant debris. It is considered an early stage in the development of...
• Pentanes plusA mixture of liquid hydrocarbons, mostly pentanes and heavier, extracted from natural gas in a gas processing...
• Percent differenceThe relative change in a quantity over a specified time period. It is calculated as follows: the current...
• Percent utilizationThe ratio of total production to productive capacity, times 100.
• PerfluorocarbonsA group of man-made chemicals composed of one or two carbon atoms and four to six fluorine atoms, containing...
• PerfluoromethaneA compound (CF4) emitted as a byproduct of aluminum smelting.
• Permanently discharged fuelSpent nuclear fuel for which there are no plans for reinsertion in the reactor core.
• PermeabilityThe ability of a rock formation to transmit fluids. A measure of how much resistance a rock formation has to...
• Persian GulfThe countries that surround the Persian Gulf are: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the...
• PersonAn individual, a corporation, a partnership, an association, a joint-stock company, a business trust, or an...
• Personal computerA microcomputer for producing written, programmed, or coded material; playing games; or doing calculations...
• Person-yearOne whole year, or fraction thereof, worked by an employee, including contracted man power. Expressed as a...
• Petrochemical feedstocksChemical feedstocks derived from refined or partially refined petroleum fraction, principally for use in the...
• PetrochemicalsOrganic and in organic compounds and mixtures that include but are not limited to organic chemicals, cyclic...
• PetroleumA broadly defined class of liquid hydrocarbon mixtures. Included are crude oil, lease condensate, unfinished...
• Petroleum Administration for Defense DistrictThe 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia are divided into five districts, with PADD 1 further split...
• Petroleum and other liquidsAll petroleum including crude oil and products of petroleum refining, natural gas liquids, biofuels, and...
• Petroleum coke, catalystThe carbonaceous residue that is deposited on the catalyst used in many catalytic operations (e.g., catalytic...
• Petroleum coke, marketableThose grades of coke produced in delayed or fluid cokers that may be recovered as relatively pure carbon...
• Petroleum importsImports of petroleum into the 50 states and the District of Columbia from foreign countries and from Puerto...
• Petroleum jellyA semi-solid oily product produced from de-waxing lubricating oil basestocks.
• Petroleum productsPetroleum products are obtained from the processing of crude oil (including lease condensate), natural gas...
• Petroleum refineryAn installation that manufactures finished petroleum products from crude oil, unfinished oils, natural gas...
• Petroleum stocks, primaryFor individual products, quantities that are held at refineries, in pipelines and at bulk terminals that have...
• PGAPurchased Gas Adjustment
• pHA measure of acidity or alkalinity. A pH of 7 represents neutrality. Acid substances have lower pH. Basic...
• PhotosynthesisThe manufacture by plants of carbohydrates and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water in the presence of...
• Photovoltaic and solar thermal energy (as usedat electric utilities)Energy radiated by the sun as electromagnetic waves (electromagnetic radiation) that is converted at electric...
• Photovoltaic cellAn electronic device consisting of layers of semiconductor materials fabricated to form a junction (adjacent...
• Photovoltaic cell net shipmentsRepresents the difference between photovoltaic cell shipments and photovoltaic cell purchases.
• Photovoltaic moduleAn integrated assembly of interconnected photovoltaic cells designed to deliver a selected level of working...
• Pig ironCrude, high-carbon iron produced by reduction of iron ore in a blast furnace.
• Pipeline, distributionA pipeline that conveys gas from a transmission pipeline to its ultimate consumer.
• Pipeline freightRefers to freight carried through pipelines, including natural gas, crude oil, and petroleum products...
• Pipeline fuelGas consumed in the operation of pipelines, primarily in compressors.
• Pipeline, gatheringA pipeline that conveys gas from a production well/field to a gas processing plant or transmission pipeline...
• Pipeline (natural gas)A continuous pipe conduit, complete with such equipment as valves, compressor stations, communications...
• Pipeline (petroleum)Crude oil and product pipelines used to transport crude oil and petroleum products, respectively (including...
• Pipeline purchasesGas supply contracted from and volumes purchased from other natural gas companies as defined by the Natural...
• Pipeline quality natural gasA mixture of hydrocarbon compounds existing in the gaseous phase with sufficient energy content, generally...
• Pipeline, transmissionA pipeline that conveys gas from a region where it is produced to a region where it is to be distributed.
• Pipelines, rate regulatedFRS (Financial Reporting System Survey) establishes three pipeline segments: crude/liquid (raw materials)...
• PitcheblendeUranium oxide (U_3O_8). It is the main component of high-grade African or domestic uranium ore and also...
• Place in serviceA vehicle is placed in service if that vehicle is new to the fleet and has not previously been in service for...
• Planetary albedoThe fraction of incident solar radiation that is reflected by the Earth-atmosphere system and returned to...
• Planned generatorA proposal by a company to install electric generating equipment at an existing or planned facility or site...
• Planning authority (electric)The responsible entity that coordinates and integrates transmission facility and service plans, resource...
• PlantA term commonly used either as a synonym for an industrial establishment or a generating facility or to refer...
• Plant condensateLiquid hydrocarbons recovered at inlet separators or scrubbers in natural gas processing plants at...
• Plant hours connected to loadThe number of hours the plant is synchronized to load over a time interval usually of 1 year.
• Plant liquidsThose volumes of natural gas liquids recovered in natural gas processing plants.
• Plant or gas processing plantA facility designated to achieve the recovery of natural gas liquids from the stream of natural gas, which...
• Plant productsNatural gas liquids recovered from natural gas processing plants (and in some cases from field facilities)...
• Plant useThe electric energy used in the operation of a plant. Included is the energy required for pumping at...
• Plant-use electricityThe electric energy used in the operation of a plant. This energy total is subtracted from the gross energy...
• PlayA set of known or postulated oil and gas accumulations sharing similar geologic, geographic, and temporal...
• Plugged-back footageUnder certain conditions, drilling operations may be continued to a greater depth than that at which a...
• Plug-in hybrid electric vehicleA vehicle that can both (1) plug into an electric power source and store power in a battery pack and (2) use...
• Plutonium (Pu)A heavy, fissionable, radioactive, metallic element (atomic number 94) that occurs naturally in trace...
• Pneumatic deviceA device moved or worked by air pressure.
• Pole-mileA unit of measuring the simple length of an electric transmission/distribution line/feeder carrying electric...
• Pole/Tower typeThe type of transmission line supporting structure.
• PolystyreneA polymer of styrene that is a rigid, transparent thermoplastic with good physical and electrical insulating...
• Polyvinyl chlorideA polymer of vinylchloride. Tasteless, odorless, insoluble in most organic solvents. A member of the family...
• PondageThe amount of water stored behind a hydroelectric dam of relatively small storage capacity; the dam is...
• PoolIn general, a reservoir. In certain situations, a pool may consist of more than one reservoir.
• Pool siteOne or more spent fuel storage pools that has a single cask loading area. Each dry cask storage area is...
• Population-weighted Degree DaysHeating or cooling degree days weighted by the population of the area in which the degree days are recorded...
• PoreAn intergranular space or discrete void within a rock that can contain natural gas, water, hydrocarbons, or...
• Pore spaceThe open spaces or voids of a rock taken collectively. It is a measure of the amount of liquid or gas that...
• PorosityThe percentage of pore space, or pore volume (in other words, the volume within sedimentary rock that can...
• Portable electric heaterA heater that uses electricity and that can be picked up and moved.
• Portable fanBox fans, oscillating fans, table or floor fans, or other fans that can be moved.
• Portable kerosene heaterA heater that uses kerosene and that can be picked up and moved.
• Post-mining emissionsEmissions of methane from coal occurring after the coal has been mined, during transport or pulverization.
• Potential consumptionThe total amount of consumption that would have occurred had the intensity of consumption remained the same...
• Potential peak reductionThe potential annual peak load reduction (measured in kilowatts) that can be deployed from Direct Load...
• Poultry fatThe fat extracted from rendered poultry wastes, which can be collected and processed into biofuels.
• Pounds (district heat)A weight quantity of steam, also used to denote a quantity of energy in the form of steam. The amount of...
• PowerThe rate of producing, transferring, or using energy, most commonly associated with electricity. Power is...
• Power ascensionThe period of time between a plant's initial fuel loading date and its date of first commercial operation...
• Power (electrical)An electric measurement unit of power called a voltampere is equal to the product of 1 volt and 1 ampere...
• Power exchangeAn entity providing a competitive spot market for electric power through day- and/or hour-ahead auction of...
• Power exchange generationGeneration scheduled by the power exchange. See definition for power exchange.
• Power exchange loadLoad that has been scheduled by the power exchange and is received through the use of transmission or...
• Power factorThe ratio of real power (kilowatt) to apparent power kilovolt-ampere for any given load and time.
• Power lossThe difference between electricity input and output as a result of an energy transfer between two points.
• Power marketersBusiness entities engaged in buying and selling electricity. Power marketers do not usually own generating or...
• Power poolAn association of two or more interconnected electric systems having an agreement to coordinate operations...
• Power production plantAll the land and land rights, structures and improvements, boiler or reactor vessel equipment, engines and...
• Power transfer limitThe maximum power that can be transferred from one electric utility system to another without overloading any...
• PowerhouseA structure at a hydroelectric plant site that contains the turbine and generator.
• PPE, additions toThe current year's expenditures on property, plant, and equipment (PPE). The amount is predicated upon each...
• PPIProducer Price Index
• Prediscovery costsAll costs incurred in an extractive industry operation prior to the actual discovery of minerals in...
• Pregnant solutionA solution containing dissolved extractable mineral that was leached from the ore; uranium leach solution...
• Preliminary permit (hydroelectric power)A single site permit granted by the FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission), which gives the recipient...
• Premium gasolineGasoline having an antiknock index, i.e., octane rating, greater than 90. Includes both leaded premium...
• Preparation plantA mining facility at which coal is crushed, screened, and mechanically cleaned.
• Preproduction costsCosts of prospecting for, acquiring, exploring, and developing mineral reserves incurred prior to the point...
• Pressurized-water reactorA nuclear reactor in which heat is transferred from the core to a heat exchanger via water kept under high...
• Preventive maintenance program for heating and/or cooling equipmentA HVAC conservation feature consisting of a program of routine inspection and service for the heating and/or...
• PriceThe amount of money or consideration-in-kind for which a service is bought, sold, or offered for sale.
• Primary coalAll coal milled and, when necessary, washed and sorted.
• Primary energyEnergy in the form that it is first accounted for in a statistical energy balance, before any transformation...
• Primary energy consumptionPrimary energy consumption: Consumption of primary energy. The U.S. Energy Information Administration...
• Primary energy consumption expendituresExpenditures for energy consumed in each of the four major end-use sectors, excluding energy in the form of...
• Primary energy productionProduction of primary energy. The U.S. Energy Information Administration includes the following in U.S...
• Primary fuelsFuels that can be used continuously. They can sustain the boiler sufficiently for the production of...
• Primary metropolitan statistical areaA component area of a Consolidated metropolitan statistical area consisting of a large urbanized county or...
• Primary recoveryThe crude oil or natural gas recovered by any method that may be employed to produce them where the fluid...
• Primary transportationConveyance of large shipments of petroleum raw materials and refined products usually by pipeline, barge, or...
• Prime moverThe engine, turbine, water wheel, or similar machine that drives an electric generator; or, for reporting...
• Prime supplierA firm that produces, imports, or transports selected petroleum products across State boundaries and local...
• Private fueling facilityA fueling facility which normally services only fleets and is not open to the general public.
• Privately owned electric utilityA class of ownership found in the electric power industry where the utility is regulated and authorized to...
• Probable energy reservesEstimated quantities of energy sources that, on the basis of geologic evidence that supports projections from...
• Probable (indicated) reserves, coalReserves or resources for which tonnage and grade are computed partly from specific measurements, samples, or...
• Process cooling and refrigerationThe direct process end use in which energy is used to lower the temperature of substances involved in the...
• Process fuelAll energy consumed in the acquisition, processing, and transportation of energy. Quantifiable process fuel...
• Process heating or cooling demand-side management (DSM) programA DSM program designed to promote increased electric energy efficiency applications in industrial process...
• Process heating or cooling waste heatrecoveryAn energy conservation system whereby some space heating or water heating is done by actively capturing...
• Processed gasNatural gas that has gone through a processing plant.
• ProcessingUranium-recovery operations whether at a mill, an in situ leach, byproduct plant, or other type of recovery...
• Processing gainThe volumetric amount by which total output is greater than input for a given period of time. This difference...
• Processing lossThe volumetric amount by which total refinery output is less than input for a given period of time. This...
• Processing of uraniumThe recovery of uranium produced by nonconventional mining methods, i.e., in situ leach mining, as a...
• Processing plantA surface installation designed to separate and recover natural gas liquids from a stream of produced natural...
• ProducerA company engaged in the production and sale of natural gas from gas or oil wells with delivery generally at...
• Producer and distributor coal stocksProducer and distributor coal stocks consist of coal held in stock by producers/distributors at the end of a...
• Producer contracted reservesThe volume of recoverable salable gas reserves committed to or controlled by the reporting pipeline company...
• Producing propertyA term often used in reference to a property, well, or mine that produces wasting natural resources. The term...
• Product suppliedApproximately represents consumption of petroleum products because it measures the disappearance of these...
• Production capacityThe amount of product that can be produced from processing facilities.
• Production costsCosts incurred to operate and maintain wells and related equipment and facilities, including depreciation and...
• Production, crude oilThe volumes of crude oil that are extracted from oil reservoirs. These volumes are determined through...
• Production expensesCosts incurred in the production of electric power that conform to the accounting requirements of the...
• Production, lease condensateThe volume of lease condensate produced. Lease condensate volumes include only those volumes recovered from...
• Production, natural gasThe volume of natural gas withdrawn from reservoirs less (1) the volume returned to such reservoirs in...
• Production, natural gas, dryThe volume of natural gas withdrawn from reservoirs during the report year less:
• Production, natural gas liquidsProduction of natural gas liquids is classified as follows:
• Production, natural gas, wet after lease separationThe volume of natural gas withdrawn from reservoirs less (1) the volume returned to such reservoirs in...
• Production, oil and gasThe lifting of oil and gas to the surface and gathering, treating, field processing (as in the case of...
• Production paymentsA contractual arrangement providing a mineral interest that gives the owner a right to receive a fraction of...
• Production plant liquidsThe volume of liquids removed from natural gas in natural gas processing plants or cycling plants during the...
• Productive capacityThe maximum amount of coal that a mining operation can produce or process during a period with the existing...
• ProfitThe income remaining after all business expenses are paid.
• Program costUtility costs that reflect the total cash expenditures for the year, reported in nominal dollars, that flowed...
• Propane airA mixture of propane and air resulting in a gaseous fuel suitable for pipeline distribution.
• Propane (C_3H_8)A straight-chain saturated (paraffinic) hydrocarbon extracted from natural gas or refinery gas streams, which...
• Propane, consumer gradeA normally gaseous paraffinic compound (C_3H_8), which includes all products covered by Natural Gas Policy...
• Proportional interest in investee reservesThe proportional interest at the end of the year in the reserves of investees that are accounted for by the...
• Proposed ratesNew electric rate schedule proposed by an applicant to become effective at a future date.
• Propylene (C_3H_6)An olefinic hydrocarbon recovered from refinery or petrochemical processes, which is gaseous at standard...
• ProspectingThe search for an area of probable mineralization; the search normally includes topographical, geological...
• Prospecting costsDirect and indirect costs incurred to identify areas of interest that may warrant detailed exploration. Such...
• Proved energy reservesEstimated quantities of energy sources that analysis of geologic and engineering data demonstrates with...
• Proved (measured) reserves, coalReserves or resources for which tonnage is computed from dimensions revealed in outcrops, trenches, workings...
• Public authoritiesElectricity supplied to municipalities, divisions, or agencies of state and Federal governments, usually...
• Public authority service to public authoritiesPublic authority service includes electricity supplied and services rendered to municipalities or divisions...
• Public street and highway lightingElectricity supplied and services rendered for the purpose of lighting streets, highways, parks, and other...
• Public utilityEnterprise providing essential public services, such as electric, gas, telephone, water, and sewer under...
• Public utility districtMunicipal corporations organized to provide electric service to both incorporated cities and towns and...
• Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935This act prohibits acquisition of any wholesale or retail electric business through a holding company unless...
• Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of1978, passed by the U.S. Congress. This statute requires States...
• Public Utility Regulatory PoliciesAct (PURPA) of 1978One part of the National Energy Act, PURPA contains measures designed to encourage the conservation of...
• Publicly owned electric utilityA class of ownership found in the electric power industry. This group includes those utilities operated by...
• Pulp chipsTimber or residues processed into small pieces of wood of more or less uniform dimensions with minimal...
• Pulp woodRoundwood, whole-tree chips, or wood residues.
• Pulping liquor (black liquor)The alkaline spent liquor removed from the digesters in the process of chemically pulping wood. After...
• Pumped-storage hydroelectric plantA plant that usually generates electric energy during peak load periods by using water previously pumped into...
• Purchase-contract imports of uraniumThe amount of foreign-origin uranium material that enters the United States during a survey year as reported...
• PurchasedReceipts into transportation, storage, and/or distribution facilities within a state under gas purchase...
• Purchased electricityElectricity that is sold to the end-use sectors for consumption, as consumed (does not include energy losses...
• Purchased powerPower purchased or available for purchase from a source outside the system.
• Purchased power adjustmentA clause in a rate schedule that provides for adjustments to the bill when energy from another electric...
• Pure pumped-storage hydroelectric plantA plant that produces power only from water that has previously been pumped to an upper reservoir.
• PVPhotovoltaic
• PVCSee Photovoltaic Cell; polyvinyl chloride
• PVCs that convert sunlight directly into energyA method for producing energy by converting sunlight using photovoltaic cells (PVCs) that are solid-state...
• PyrolysisThe thermal decomposition of biomass at high temperatures (greater than 400° F, or 200° C) in the absence of...

210 of 2,515 terms in Energy terminology (MLC-0117). Request the full dataset.