Glossary

Orders a manufacturer has signed but not yet delivered. In gas turbines, the reported backlog is the queue of firm equipment orders waiting for factory time; manufacturers may report slot reservations alongside it.

Source: GE Vernova, Third quarter 2026 financial results · Slot Machine

PJM's main annual capacity auction, held ahead of the delivery year it covers. It sets a clearing price, in dollars per megawatt-day, paid to the generators and other resources that commit to be available.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Today in Energy: Transmission upgrades compensate for coal-fired retirements in Ohio electric region · Load Bearing

Equipment on the customer's side of the utility meter, such as on-site generation or batteries, that serves the customer's own load. Its output reduces what the customer draws from the grid rather than being sold onto it.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-826 and EIA-861 frequently asked questions · Load Bearing

KPA's score for how well its calls turned out. Each resolved call scores the square of the gap between its stated chance and what happened, so lower is better and 0 is perfect.

Source: Kranenburg Power Advisors, Calls

A wholesale market that pays power plants and other resources to be available to produce electricity in a future period, rather than paying only for the energy they produce. Several regional grid operators, including PJM, run one through auctions.

Source: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, An introductory guide to electricity markets regulated by FERC · Load Bearing

An arrangement in which a large electricity user, such as a data center, sits at or beside a power plant and takes some or all of its power directly. How much it still relies on, and pays for, the wider grid is the subject of federal rules for PJM.

Source: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Fact sheet: FERC directs nation's largest grid operator to create new rules · Load Bearing

A gas-fired plant that uses the hot exhaust from one or more gas turbines to make steam for a steam turbine. Capturing that otherwise wasted heat makes it more efficient than a turbine running alone, so it often runs for long hours.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Glossary (C) · Slot Machine

A reduction in the power delivered to a customer, made under the terms of its service or contract, usually when the grid is short of supply. Customers on interruptible terms accept curtailment in return for lower rates or faster connection.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Glossary (I) · Load Bearing

KPA's publication format: a short, sourced brief built around one event and one argument. Each sets out key implications, three sections of evidence, and dated calls that are scored when they resolve.

Source: Kranenburg Power Advisors, Method · Load Bearing · Slot Machine

Programs that pay or credit electricity customers to cut or shift their use at certain times, usually when demand is high or supply is tight. Some let the grid operator reduce the load directly; in others, the customer stays in control.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Glossary (D) · Load Bearing

The U.S. Energy Information Administration, the independent statistical and analytical agency within the Department of Energy. It collects and publishes the federal government's energy data, including electricity sales, prices, and power plant inventories.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, About EIA · Load Bearing · Slot Machine

EIA's monthly survey of US power plants, which updates the annual Form EIA-860 inventory. It tracks the status of existing generators and of proposed ones, from planned to under construction to operating.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory · Slot Machine

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the grid and wholesale electricity market for most of Texas. As the independent system operator for the region, it is overseen by the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

Source: Electric Reliability Council of Texas, About ERCOT · Load Bearing

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the independent federal agency that regulates interstate electricity transmission, wholesale power sales, and the regional grid operators' market rules. Retail rates are set by state commissions instead.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Glossary (F) · Load Bearing

Electricity demand that can be reduced, paused, or moved in time when the grid needs it, such as a data center that agrees to cut use during peak hours. Flexibility lets a grid serve more load without building for every peak hour.

Source: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Efficiency and load flexibility · Load Bearing

A unit of electric power equal to one billion watts, or one thousand megawatts. It is the usual unit for the capacity of large power plants, regional grids, and data center campuses.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Glossary (G) · Load Bearing · Slot Machine

Two families of gas turbine used in power plants. Heavy-duty (industrial-frame) turbines are large units built for power stations and drive most combined-cycle plants; aeroderivative turbines are adapted from aircraft jet engines, are lighter and more compact, and start and change output quickly.

Source: GE Vernova, Aeroderivative and heavy-duty gas turbines · Load Bearing · Slot Machine

A company that owns or operates power plants but is not a regulated utility. Its plants are often merchant plants: they sell power and capacity into wholesale markets or under contract, and their owners and lenders, not utility customers, bear the risk.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Glossary (I) · Slot Machine

A long-range plan in which a utility forecasts demand and sets out the mix of power plants, purchases, and demand-side programs it intends to use to meet it. Many state commissions require and review these plans.

Source: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Energy planning and procurement

The line of proposed power plants, storage projects, and, increasingly, large loads waiting for a grid operator or utility to study and approve their connection to the transmission system. Many projects in a queue are never built.

Source: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Queued Up: Characteristics of power plants seeking transmission interconnection · Load Bearing · Slot Machine

An independent system operator or regional transmission organization: a nonprofit, federally regulated body that runs the high-voltage grid and wholesale power markets across a region. PJM is one; ERCOT performs the same role within Texas.

Source: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, RTOs and ISOs · Load Bearing

A unit of electric power equal to one thousand watts. A kilowatt-hour is the energy used by running one kilowatt for one hour, the unit on most household bills.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Glossary (K) · Load Bearing · Slot Machine

A dated, checkable prediction published in a KPA brief, with a stated likelihood, its basis, and the source and date on which it resolves. Every call is logged and scored, including the misses.

Source: Kranenburg Power Advisors, Calls · Load Bearing · Slot Machine

The process of connecting a very large electricity user, such as a data center or factory, to the transmission system. Federal regulators have opened a proceeding on how these connections should be studied and paid for.

Source: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Interconnection of large loads to the interstate transmission system (Docket No. RM26-4-000) · Load Bearing · Slot Machine

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a Department of Energy national laboratory. Its energy analysts publish widely used research on interconnection queues, utility regulation, and data center electricity use.

Source: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Energy Markets and Planning · Load Bearing · Slot Machine

The fixed words KPA uses to state how likely a call is, each tied to a range of probability. Very likely means 80–95%, likely 55–80%, and about even 45–55%.

Source: Kranenburg Power Advisors, Calls · Load Bearing · Slot Machine

A projection of how much electricity customers will use, and at what peak, over the coming years. Utilities and grid operators use it to decide what plants and wires to build, and NERC compiles them in its long-term reliability assessments.

Source: North American Electric Reliability Corporation, Reliability Assessment · Load Bearing

A unit of electric power equal to one million watts, or one thousand kilowatts. Power plant capacity and large customer loads are usually stated in megawatts.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Glossary (M) · Load Bearing · Slot Machine

The unit in which PJM prices capacity: dollars paid for one megawatt of capacity made available for one day. Multiplying by the days in a year gives an annual payment per megawatt.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Today in Energy: Transmission upgrades compensate for coal-fired retirements in Ohio electric region · Load Bearing

The maximum rated output of a generator under conditions set by its manufacturer, usually stated in megawatts. Actual output is often lower, depending on weather, fuel, and how often the plant runs.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Glossary (G) · Slot Machine

The highest electricity use on a system during a set period, such as a day, season, or year. Grids are built to meet the peak, not the average.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Glossary (P) · Load Bearing · Slot Machine

PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission organization that runs the grid and wholesale power markets in all or part of 13 mid-Atlantic and Midwest states and the District of Columbia. Its markets include energy, capacity, and ancillary services.

Source: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, PJM · Load Bearing

Codes EIA uses to track proposed generators. Planned units range from no regulatory approvals sought (P), to approvals pending (L), to approvals received (T); under-construction units are coded U or V by how far along they are, and canceled or indefinitely postponed units drop out.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-860 instructions · Slot Machine

Limits on the price a capacity auction can clear at. A cap sets the maximum; a collar pairs it with a floor, so the price must land between the two.

Source: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, State of the Markets report, March 2026 · Load Bearing

The state agency, also called a public service commission, that regulates utilities in its state. It sets retail electricity rates, approves utility investments, and in many states reviews utility resource plans.

Source: National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, About NARUC · Load Bearing · Slot Machine

The value of the property, such as plants and wires, on which a regulator lets a utility earn a set rate of return. Adding to the rate base is how a regulated utility grows its earnings.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Glossary (R)

A customer who pays a utility's regulated rates. Regulators weigh what ratepayers pay against the cost of the plants and wires built to serve them.

Source: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Utility regulation and business models · Load Bearing

A utility that holds a monopoly to serve customers in its territory and has its rates set by a state commission, which allows it to earn a return on its investments. In exchange, it must serve every customer in its territory.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Glossary (I) · Load Bearing · Slot Machine

The share of a power system's available capacity that is left over at the time of peak demand. Planners keep a margin to cover outages and forecast errors.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Glossary (R)

Electricity sold directly to the customers who use it, such as homes, businesses, and factories. EIA's retail sales series is a common measure of US electricity demand.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Glossary (R) · Load Bearing

EIA's monthly forecast of US energy supply, demand, and prices for the current and following year, including electricity sales and generation.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook · Load Bearing

A gas turbine plant that runs the turbine alone, without recovering its exhaust heat. It starts quickly but uses more fuel per unit of power than a combined-cycle plant, so it usually runs as a peaker during the highest-demand hours.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Glossary (P) · Slot Machine

A paid agreement that holds a place in a turbine maker's production schedule for a future delivery date. The buyer later converts it into a firm order once its plant is ready to commit.

Source: GE Vernova, Third quarter 2026 financial results · Slot Machine

A unit of electric energy equal to one trillion watt-hours, or one billion kilowatt-hours. National and state electricity use over a year is usually stated in terawatt-hours.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Glossary (T) · Load Bearing

The network of high-voltage lines and equipment that moves electricity in bulk from power plants to the local distribution systems that deliver it to customers.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Glossary (T) · Load Bearing · Slot Machine