Utility Terms

Circuit Breaker - An electrical device that breaks an electrical circuit when too much current has been drawn and can be reset after circuit repairs have been completed.

Current - The flow of electricity as expressed in amperes. Current can be either alternating or direct. Direct current always flows in one direction such as in a battery. With alternating current, electrons reverse direction on a periodic cycle. Most household and commercial outlets use alternating current.

Demand - A measure of power or the rate at which energy is used expressed in watts or kilowatts. For example, if a business turns on all of its equipment at the same time for a short period, it will result in a high demand and low consumption. This is important to remember since the monthly peak demand is an integral part of a non-residential invoice.

Feeder - An electrical distribution circuit carrying power from a substation to multiple users.

Kilowatt-hour (kWh) - A Kilowatt-hour is the amount of energy, which is used when one kilowatt (1,000watts) of power is utilized for one hour. Energy (kWh)=Power (kW) x time (Hrs.)

Multiplier - The multiplier is a factor applied to a meter reading to recognize current and potential transformers, used in the metering circuits.

Service entrances - The point of connection between the utility and the customer. A service entrance is rated according to its capacity in amperes (amps). A small home or shop may have a 100-amp entrance, whereas a larger home with electric heating may have a 200 or 400-amp entrance. Larger commercial and industrial consumers may require entrance capacities up to 3000 amps.

Short Circuit - The uncontrolled flow of electrical current. Usually caused when an uninsulated conductor is brought in contact with a grounded object.

Substation - An enclosed area that acts as a junction between the transmission of power from a generating station and the distribution of power to customers.

Transformer - An electrical device that changes the level of voltage between systems such as generation and transmission, or distribution and customer.

Voltage - Voltage refers to the amount of force behind an electrical current. A low voltage system is up to 1000 volts, a medium voltage system is from 1000 to 69,000 volts while high voltage is in excess of 69,000. If we use water flowing through a pipe as an example - voltage would be equivalent to the water pressure.