Energy terminology · MLC-0117

Energy terms: R (205)

• RACRefiners' Acquisition Cost.
• Rack salesWholesale truckload sales or smaller of gasoline where title transfers at a terminal.
• Radiant barrierA thin, reflective foil sheet that exhibits low radiant energy transmission and under certain conditions can...
• Radiant ceiling panelsCeiling panels that contain electric resistance heating elements embedded within them to provide radiant heat...
• Radiant energyEnergy that transmits away from its source in all directions.
• RadiationThe transfer of heat through matter or space by means of electromagnetic waves.
• Radiative forcingA change in average net radiation at the top of the troposphere (known as the tropopause) because of a change...
• Radiatively active gasesGases that absorb incoming solar radiation or outgoing infrared radiation, affecting the vertical temperature...
• RadiatorA heating unit usually exposed to view within the room or space to be heated; it transfers heat by radiation...
• Radioactive wasteMaterials left over from making nuclear energy. Radioactive waste can destroy living organisms if it is not...
• RadioactivityThe spontaneous emission of radiation from the nucleus of an atom. Radionuclides lose particles and energy...
• RadioisotopeA radioactive isotope.
• RadonA naturally occurring radioactive gas found in the United States in nearly all types of soil, rock, and...
• Rail (method of transportation to consumers)Shipments of coal moved to consumers by rail (private or public/commercial). Includes coal hauled to or away...
• Railroad and railway electric serviceElectricity supplied to railroads and interurban and street railways, for general railroad use, including the...
• Railroad locomotiveSelf-propelled vehicle that runs on rails and is used for moving railroad cars.
• Railroad useSales to railroads for any use, including that used for heating buildings operated by railroads.
• Range topThe range burners or stove top and the oven are considered two separate appliances. Counted also with range...
• Rankine cycleThe thermodynamic cycle that is an ideal standard for comparing performance of heat-engines, steam power...
• Rankine cycle engineThe Rankine cycle system uses a liquid that evaporates when heated and expands to produce work, such as...
• Rate baseThe value of property upon which a utility is permitted to earn a specified rate of return as established by...
• Rate base (electric)The value of property, upon which, a utility is permitted to earn a specified rate of return as established...
• Rate caseA proceeding, usually before a regulatory commission, involving the rates to be charged for a public utility...
• Rate featuresSpecial rate schedules or tariffs offered to customers by electric and/or natural gas utilities.
• Rate of returnThe ratio of net operating income earned by a utility is calculated as a percentage of its rate base.
• Rate of return on rate baseThe ratio of net operating income earned by a utility, calculated as a percentageof its rate base.
• Rate schedule (electric)The rates, charges, and provisions under which service is supplied to the designated class of customers. See...
• Ratemaking authorityA utility commission's legal authority to fix, modify, approve, or disapprove rates as determined by the...
• RatesThe authorized charges per unit or level of consumption for a specified time period for any of the classes of...
• RatingA manufacturer's guaranteed performance of a machine, transmission line, or other electrical apparatus, based...
• Ratio estimateThe ratio of two population aggregates (totals). For example, "average miles traveled per vehicle" is the...
• Ratoon cropA crop cultivated from the shoots of a perennial plant.
• Raw CoalCoal that has received no preparation other than possibly screening.
• Rayleigh frequency distributionA mathematical representation of the frequency or ratio that specific wind speeds occur within a specified...
• RBOBReformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending.
• ReactanceA phenomenon associated with AC power characterized by the existence of a time difference between voltage and...
• Reactive powerThe portion of electricity that establishes and sustains the electric and magnetic fields of...
• Real dollarsThese are dollars that have been adjusted for inflation.
• Real PowerThe component of electric power that performs work, typically measured in kilowatts (kW) or...
• Real priceA price that has been adjusted to remove the effect of changes in the purchasing power of the dollar. Real...
• Reasonably assured resourcesThe uranium that occurs in known mineral deposits of such size, grade, and configuration that it could be...
• Rebate programA utility company-sponsored conservation program whereby the utility company returns a portion of the...
• ReburnAn advanced co-firing technique using natural gas to reduce pollution from electric power plants.
• Receipts• Deliveries of fuel to an electric plant • Purchases of fuel • All revenues received by an exporter for the...
• Receivables from municipalityAll charges by the utility department against the municipality or its other departments that are subject to...
• ReceivedGas (and other fuels) physically transferred into the responding company's transportation, storage, and/or...
• ReclamationProcess of restoring surface environment to acceptable pre-existing conditions. Includes surface contouring...
• Reclamation expensesIn the context of the coal operation statement of income, refers to all payments made by the company...
• RecoverabilityIn reference to accessible coal resources, the condition of being physically, technologically, and...
• Recoverable coalCoal that is, or can be, extracted from a coal bed during mining.
• Recoverable proved reservesThe proved reserves of natural gas as of December 31 of any given year are the estimated quantities of...
• Recoverable Resources of CoalThe sum of measured resources plus indicated resources.
• Recovery factor (coal)The percentage of total tons of coal estimated to be recoverable from a given area in relation to the total...
• Recovery factor (oil and natural gas)The amount of hydrocarbon originally in place (original hydrocarbon volume in a reservoir before production)...
• Recovery percentage (coal)The percentage of coal that can be recovered from the coal deposits at existing mines.
• RectifierA device for converting alternating current to direct current.
• Recycled feedsFeeds that are continuously fed back for additional processing.
• RecyclingThe process of converting materials that are no longer useful as designed or intended into a new product.
• Redox potentialA measurement of the state of oxidation of a system.
• Redrill footageOccasionally, a hole is lost or junked and a second hole may be drilled from the surface in close proximity...
• Reduced use-off hoursA conservation feature consisting of manually or automatically reducing the amount of heating or cooling...
• Reference monthThe calendar month and year to which the reported cost, price, and volume information relates.
• Reference yearThe calendar year to which the reported sales volume information relates.
• Refined coalA coal product that is created when impurities and/or moisture are removed to improve heat content and reduce...
• Refined petroleum productsRefined petroleum products include but are not limited to gasolines, kerosene, distillates (including No. 2...
• RefinerA firm or the part of a firm that refines products or blends and substantially changes products, or refines...
• Refiner acquisition cost of crude oilThe cost of crude oil, including transportation and other fees paid by the refiner. The composite cost is the...
• RefineryAn installation that manufactures finished petroleum products from crude oil, unfinished oils, natural gas...
• Refinery and blender net inputsRaw materials, unfinished oils, and blending components processed at refineries, or blended at refineries or...
• Refinery and blender net productionLiquefied refinery gases, and finished petroleum products produced at a refinery or petroleum storage...
• Refinery capacity utilizationRatio of the total amount of crude oil, unfinished oils, and natural gas plant liquids run through crude oil...
• Refinery fuelCrude oil and petroleum products consumed at the refinery for all purposes.
• Refinery gasStill gas consumed as refinery fuel.
• Refinery input, crude oilTotal crude oil (domestic plus foreign) input to crude oil distillation units and other refinery processing...
• Refinery input, totalThe raw materials and intermediate materials processed at refineries to produce finished petroleum products...
• Refinery losses and gainsProcessing gain and loss that takes place during the refining process itself. Excludes losses that do not...
• Refinery olefinsSubset of olefinic hydrocarbons (olefins) produced at crude oil refineries, including ethylene, propylene...
• Refinery outputThe total amount of petroleum products produced at a refinery. Includes petroleum consumed by the refinery.
• Refinery productionPetroleum products produced at a refinery or blending plant. Published production of these products equals...
• Refinery utilization rateRepresents the use of the atmospheric crude oil distillation units. The rate is calculated by dividing the...
• Refinery yieldRepresents the percentage of finished product produced from input of crude oil, hydrogen, and other...
• Refinery-grade butaneA refinery-produced hydrocarbon product that is composed predominantly of normal butane and/or isobutane, and...
• Reflective filmTransparent covering for glass that helps keep out heat from the sun.
• ReflectivityThe ratio of the energy carried by a wave after reflection from a surface to its energy before reflection.
• ReforestationReplanting of forests on lands that have recently been harvested or otherwise cleared of trees.
• Reformulated blendstock for oxygenate blendingMotor gasoline blending components intended for blending with oxygenates to produce finished reformulated...
• Reformulated gasolineFinished gasoline formulated for use in motor vehicles, the composition and properties of which meet the...
• Refrigeration unitLowers the temperature through a mechanical process. In a typical refrigeration unit, electricity powers a...
• RefundingRetirement of one security issue with proceeds received from selling another. Refunding provides for retiring...
• Refuse bankA repository for waste material generated by the coal cleaning process.
• Refuse mineA surface mine where coal is recovered from previously mined coal. It may also be known as a silt bank, culm...
• Refuse recoveryThe recapture of coal from a refuse mine or the coal recaptured by that process. The resulting product has...
• Refuse-derived fuelA fuel produced by shredding municipal solid waste (MSW). Noncombustible materials such as glass and metals...
• Regional reserves, regional reserve estimates (coal)Same as reserves; alternative wording is used by EIA to distinguish regional reserves, which are derived by...
• Regional Transmission GroupA utility industry concept that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) embraced for the...
• Regular gasolineGasoline having an antiknock index, i.e., octane rating, greater than or equal to 85 and less than 88. Note...
• Regulated entityFor the purpose of EIA's data collection efforts, entities that either provide electricity within a...
• Regulated streamflowThe rate of flow past a given point during a specified period that is controlled by reservoir water release...
• RegulationThe governmental function of controlling or directing economic entities through the process of rulemaking and...
• Regulation, procedures, and practicesA utility commission carries out its regulatory functions through rulemaking and adjudication. Under...
• Reheating coilsA part of some air-conditioning systems. Electric coils in air ducts used primarily to raise the temperature...
• Reid Vapor PressureAn indirect measure of the rate at which petroleum liquids evaporate. Its the absolute vapor pressure of a...
• ReinjectedThe forcing of gas under pressure into an oil reservoir in an attempt to increase recovery.
• Reinserted fuelIrradiated fuel that is discharged in one cycle and inserted in the same reactor during a subsequent...
• ReinsertionThe process of returning nuclear fuel that has been irradiated and then removed from a reactor back into a...
• Reliability coordinator (electric)The entity that is the highest level of authority who is responsible for the reliable operation of the Bulk...
• Reliability (electric system)A measure of the ability of the system to continue operation while some lines or generators are out of...
• Relocation of tailingsRelocation of tailings is sometimes necessary if the pile poses a threat to inhabitants or the environment...
• Remaining (resources/reserves) (coal)The amount of coal in the ground after some mining, excluding coal in the ground spoiled or left in place for...
• Renewable diesel fuelRenewable fuel consisting of hydrocarbon molecules, produced through the hydrotreating of animal fats...
• Renewable energy resourcesEnergy resources that are naturally replenishing but flow-limited. They are virtually inexhaustible in...
• Renewable Fuel StandardThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency implements the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program in consultation...
• Renewable gasolineA renewable fuel consisting of hydrocarbon molecules and considered a replacement for petroleum motor...
• Renewable heating oilRenewable fuel consisting of hydrocarbon molecules used as a replacement for petroleum-based heating oil...
• Renewable jet fuelRenewable fuel consisting of hydrocarbon molecules typically blended with petroleum-based kerosene jet fuel...
• Renewable naphthaA renewable fuel consisting of hydrocarbon molecules and considered a replacement for naphtha-range...
• Replacement energy source for primary heatingFor the CBECS (an EIA consumption survey), the heating energy source to which the building could switch...
• Replacement vehicleA vehicle which is acquired in order to take the place of a vehicle which is being retired from service...
• Report StateThe State, including adjacent offshore continental shelf areas in the Federal domain, in which a company...
• Report weekA calendar week beginning at 12:01a.m. on Sunday and ending at midnight on Saturday.
• Report year (calendar)The 12-month period, January 1 through December 31
• Report year (fiscal)A 12-month period for which an organization plans the use of its funds. The fiscal year is designated by the...
• ReportingThe average number of Btu per cubic foot of gas at 60 degrees Fahrenheit and 14.73 psia delivered directly to...
• RepoweringFor power plants that use combustible fuel, repowering refers to refurbishing a plant by replacing the...
• RepressuringThe injection of gas into oil or gas formations to effect greater ultimate recovery.
• ReprocessingSynonymous with chemical separations.
• Requirements powerThe firm service needs required by designated load plus losses from the points of supply.
• ReregulationThe design and implementation of regulatory practices to be applied to the remaining regulated entities after...
• Resale (wholesale) salesResale or wholesale sales are electricity sold (except under exchange agreements) to other electric utilities...
• Research and developmentBasic and applied research in the sciences and engineering and the design and development of prototypes and...
• ResellerA firm (other than a refiner) that is engaged in a trade or business that buys refined petroleum products and...
• ReserveThat portion of the demonstrated reserve base that is estimated to be recoverable at the time of...
• Reserve additionsThe estimated original, recoverable, salable, and new proved reserves credited to new fields, new reservoirs...
• Reserve cost categories of $15, $30, $50, and$100 per pound U_3O_8Classification of uranium reserves estimated by using break-even cut-off grades that are calculated based on...
• Reserve generating capacityAmount of generating capacity available to meet peak or abnormally high demands for power and to generate...
• Reserve margin (operating)The amount of unused available capability of an electric power system (at peak load for a utility system) as...
• Reserve revisionsChanges to prior year-end proved reserves estimates, either positive or negative, resulting from new...
• Reserves changesPositive and negative revisions, extensions, new reservoir discoveries in old fields, and new field...
• Reserves, coalQuantities of unextracted coal that comprise the demonstrated base for future production, including both...
• Reserves, netIncludes all proved reserves associated with the company's net working interests.
• ReservoirA porous and permeable underground formation containing an individual and separate natural accumulation of...
• Reservoir capacityThe present total developed capacity (base and working) of the storage reservoir, excluding contemplated...
• Reservoir repressuringThe injection of a pressurized fluid (such as air, gas, or water) into oil and gas reservoir formations to...
• Residential buildingA structure used primarily as a dwelling for one or more households.
• Residential consumersConsumers using gas for heating, air conditioning, cooking, water heating, and other residential uses in...
• Residential energy consumption surveyA national sample survey conducted by the Office of Energy Demand and Integrated Statistics of the U.S...
• Residential heating oil priceThe price charged for home delivery of No. 2 heating oil, exclusive of any discounts such as those for prompt...
• Residential propane priceThe "bulk keep full" price for home delivery of consumer-grade propane intended for use in space heating...
• Residential sectorAn energy-consuming sector that consists of living quarters for private households. Common uses of energy...
• Residential type central air conditionerThere are four basic parts to a residential central air-conditioning system (1) a condensing unit, (2) a...
• Residential vehiclesMotorized vehicles used by U.S. households for personal transportation. Excluded are motorcycles, mopeds...
• Residential/commercial (consumer category)Housing units, wholesale or retail businesses (except coal wholesale dealers); health institutions...
• Residual fuel oilA general classification for the heavier oils, known as No. 5 and No. 6 fuel oils, that remain after the...
• Residue gasNatural gas from which natural gas processing plant liquid products and, in some cases, nonhydrocarbon...
• ResiduumResidue from crude oil after distilling off all but the heaviest components, with a boiling range greater...
• Resources (Coal)Naturally occurring concentrations or deposits of coal in the Earth's crust, in such forms and amounts that...
• RespondentA company or individual who completes and returns a report or survey form.
• Restoration timeThe time when the major portion of the interrupted load has been restored and the emergency is considered to...
• Restricted-universe censusThis is the complete enumeration of data from a specifically defined subset of entities including, for...
• RestructuringThe process of replacing a monopoly system of electric utilities with competing sellers, allowing individual...
• Retail motor gasoline pricesMotor gasoline prices calculated each month by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in conjunction with the...
• Retail sales (electric)Sales made directly to the customer that consumes the electricity.
• Retail wheelingThe process of moving electric power from a point of generation across third-party-owned transmission and...
• RetailerA firm (other than a refiner, reseller, or reseller/retailer) that carries on the trade or business of...
• Retained earningsThe balance, either debit or credit, of appropriated or unappropriated retained earnings of the utility...
• Retire from serviceA vehicle is retired from service if that vehicle is placed out of service and there are no future plans to...
• Retired hydropower plant sitesThe site of a plant that formerly produced electrical or mechanical power but is now out of service. Includes...
• Return on common equityThe net income less preferred stock dividends, divided by the average common stock equity.
• Return on common stock equityAn equity's earnings available for common stockholders calculated as a percentage of its common equity...
• Revenue - (electricity)The total amount of money received by an entity from sales of its products and/or services; gains from the...
• Revenue requirementThe total revenue that the utility is authorized an opportunity to recover, which includes operating expenses...
• Reversible turbineA hydraulic turbine, normally installed in a pumped-storage plant, which can be used alternatively as a pump...
• Revisions and additions (gross change in reserves)The difference (plus or minus) between the year-end reserves plus production for a given year and the...
• Ribbon siliconCrystalline silicon that is used in photovoltaic cells. Ribbon silicon is fabricated by a variety of...
• Right-of-wayThe land and legal right to use and service the land along which a transmission line is located. Transmission...
• Right-of-way (electric)A corridor of land on which electric lines may be located. The Transmission Owner may own the land in fee...
• Rip rapCobblestone or coarsely broken rock used for protection against erosion of embankment or gully.
• River (method of transportation to consumers - coal)Shipments of coal moved to consumers via river by barge. Shipments to Great Lakes coal loading docks or...
• Road oilAny heavy petroleum oil, including residual asphaltic oil used as a dust palliative and surface treatment on...
• Rodlet or GAD basketAn open garbage and debris (GAD) basket that may have contain pieces of fuel rods, disassembled fuel rods...
• Roll frontA type of uranium deposition localized as a roll or interface separating an oxidized interior from a reduced...
• Roof (coal)The rock immediately above a coal seam. The roof is commonly a shale, often carbonaceous and softer than...
• Roof insulationInsulating materials placed underneath the roof or on the roof (building).
• Roof or ceiling insulationA building shell conservation feature consisting of insulation placed in the roof (below the waterproofing...
• Roof or ceiling insulation, insulation in exterior wallsAny material that when placed between the interior surface of the building and the exterior surface of the...
• Roof pondA solar energy collection device consisting of containers of water located on a roof that absorb solar energy...
• Room air conditionerAir-conditioning units that typically fit into the window or wall and are designed to cool only one room.
• Room heater burning gas, oil, and keroseneAny of the following heating equipment: circulating heaters, convectors, radiant gas heaters, space heaters...
• Room-and-pillar miningThe most common method of underground mining in which the mine roof is supported mainly by coal pillars left...
• Rotary rigA machine used for drilling wells that employs a rotating tube attached to a bit for boring holes through...
• Round test meshA sieving screen with round holes, the dimensions of which are of specific sizes to allow certain sizes of...
• RoundwoodWood cut specifically for use as a fuel.
• Royalties (coal)Payments from a lessee to the lessor, for the use of the lessor’s coal resources. Payments are made in money...
• RoyaltyA contractual arrangement providing a mineral interest that gives the owner a right to a fractional share of...
• Royalty costA share of the profit or product reserved by the grantor of a mining lease, such as a royalty paid to a...
• Royalty interestAn interest in a mineral property provided through a royalty contract.
• Royalty interest (including overriding royalty)These interests entitle their owner(s) to a share of the mineral production from a property or to a share of...
• RSERelative Standard Error
• Rulemaking (regulations)The authority delegated to administrative agencies by Congress or State legislative bodies to make rules that...
• Run offThat portion of the precipitation that flows over the land surface and ultimately reaches streams to complete...
• Running and quick-start capabilityThe net capability of generating units that carry load or have quick-start capability. In general...
• Run-of-mine coalCoal as it comes from the mine prior to screening or any other treatment.
• Run-of-river hydroelectric plantA low-head plant using the flow of a stream as it occurs and having little or no reservoir capacity for...
• Rural Electrification AdministrationA lending agency of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the REA makes self-liquidating loans to qualified...
• R-valueA measure of a material's resistance to heat flow in units of Fahrenheit degrees x hours x square feet per...

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