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Glossary
B
Bilateral contract
A bilateral contract is an agreement reached between a representative agent and a producer to sell the energy which the latter produces at a fixed price.
Biodiesel
Biodiesel is a source of clean, renewable and high quality energy which contributes to preserving the environment and represents a viable alternative to fossil fuels. Biodiesel is obtained through vegetable oils such as sunflower, soy, rapeseed or palm, among others.
Bioethanol
Bioethanol has the same chemical composition as ethanol. The difference is in its production process, as bioethanol is obtained from biomass.
Biofuels
Biofuels are fuels which utilize biomass as a raw material.
Biogas
Biogas is a mixture of gas produced such as a result of the fermentation of organic material in the absence of oxygen. Its principal components are methane and carbon dioxide. It is obtained from organic residues such as animal, vegetable or household waste.
Biomass
Biomass is a set of organic materials which are used as an energy source. It may come from an agricultural or forest origin, although the organic matter from waste waters or sewage is also biomass, as well as the organic part of the solid urban wastes, or wastes derived from industries.
Boiler
A boiler is a closed metallic container equipped with a heat source where water is heated up, principally the water which circulates through the heating tubes and radiators.
C
Charcoal
Charcoal is a type of rock which is made up of carbon mixed with other substances. It was formed when the remains of prehistoric vegetation were accumulated in swamps and marshes. By remaining underground, these remains were subjected to high temperatures and pressures, which caused physical and chemical changes in them, transforming them first into peat and then charcoal. It is used, among other things, to generate electricity.
Chemical energy
Chemical energy is the energy obtained by breaking the bonds which keep the atoms which form a molecule of a specific substance together.
D
Digital meter
Also known as an intelligent meter, the digital meter ensures that the data collected are not altered by unwanted signals, which can falsify the final result.
E
Electric transformer
An electric transformer is an electromagnetic device which allows the voltage and intensity of an alternating current to be increased or decreased.
Electrical power
Electrical power is measured in Watts and it is the amount of energy delivered or absorbed by an element in a specific time period.
Electricity consumption meter
An electricity consumption meter is a device which measures the electrical energy consumption for a electrical service or circuit. There are electronic or electromechanical meters.
Electricity Distributor
The electricity distributor is the company that owns the infrastructure necessary to allow the electricity to reach a specific area. They are the owners and the party responsible for the electricity network. Their principal responsibilities are: to solve the errors which occur outside of the home or store affected and take the reading from the meters.
Electricity generator
The function of an electricity generator is to generate electricity where there is no electricity supply, generally in isolated areas with few and barely inhabited infrastructures.
Electricity Marketer
The electricity marketer is the company which gives you access to the service, making the electricity reach your home through the network owned by the distributor from your area and billing you for the service.
Electricity producer representation
Activity developed by the authorized representative agents. They manage the energy produced by their clients in the electricity market.
Electricity rates
The electricity rate is the amount that we pay for the electricity that we consume. The final price is a sum of the basic bill, the amounts of renting the measurement equipment, the taxes and surcharges or discounts corresponding to the four existing complementary rates.
Energy efficiency
Energy efficiency consists in reducing the use of energy without decreasing the performance, thereby safeguarding the environment and promoting sustainability.
Energy sector
The energy sectors brings together the primary, secondary and tertiary activities regarding the production, transport, innovation, administration and sale of the entirety of a nation's energy products.
Estimated reading
The estimated meter reading is what happens when the real reading data are not available and the data are measured based on the consumption history.
Ethanol
Ethanol is a chemical compound obtained based on the fermentation of sugars and which can be used as a fuel. Its use represents an alternative to the consumption of petroleum derivatives.
G
Geothermal
Geothermal energy is a clean, renewable and very efficient energy which takes advantage of the subsoil heat to climatize and to obtain domestic hot water.
H
Hydraulic energy
Hydraulic energy is the energy which is obtained thanks to the water which accumulated in high-altitude reservoirs or dams. By letting the water fall, the kinetic energy generated ends up turning into electricity in the hydroelectric plant. This is an easy-to-store source of clean energy.
Hydraulic pump
A hydraulic pump is a machine that transforms energy, generally mechanical energy, into hydraulic energy. It works by allowing the atmospheric pressure to push the fluid in the inlet line from the tank. When the liquid is within the inlet line, it reaches the pump thanks to the mechanical action of suction.
K
Kinetic energy
Kinetic energy is the energy which any body produces by going into motion.
M
Market Agent
Company allowed to operate as a buyer and seller of electrical energy.
Mechanical energy
Mechanical energy is the capacity that a body or set of bodies has to make movements, due to its potential or kinetic energy.
Methanol
Methanol is a chemical product from the group of alcohols which are used as fuel by mixing them generally with gasoline.
N
Nuclear energy
Nuclear energy is the energy which is obtained, spontaneously or artificially, based on the reactions of particles and atomic nuclei. This is a very efficient type of energy, although obtaining it involves risks. Nuclear power plants use nuclear fission to produce electricity.
P
Photovoltaic panel
This converts solar energy into electrical energy.
Plant representative
A plant representative is an agent who manages the energy generated by the producers. They sell the energy on the wholesale market, managing the premiums that it receives and interacting with the system operator and the distributor companies.
Potential energy
Potential energy is the capacity for work to be developed based on the body's configuration or position.
Pre-bill
A pre-bill is not a definitive bill, but rather an informative message prior to what we expect to charge: a very useful tool to prevent erroneous readings or estimates which do not match reality.
R
Renewable energy generation plant
A plant that exclusively produces renewable energy.
Renewable energy
Renewable energies are those types of energy which do not generate greenhouse gases or other emissions harmful for the environment. This is where name clean energies comes from. Solar, hydraulic, wind, geothermal, tidal or biomass energy are renewable energies. Although the production of some of these types of energy is subject to weather conditions (wind energy, for example), in general they are in nature in an unlimited amount.
Representation in the market
Activity developed by the authorized representative agents. They manage the energy produced by their clients in the electricity market.
Representative Agent
Representative between the electrical energy producers and the electrical market. The party interacts with the Market Operator, the System Operator and the National Commission on Markets and Competition and the distributor companies.
S
Solar batteries
In a photovoltaic generation system, solar batteries have the function of accumulating the energy which is produced while the sun is shining. Another function of the solar batteries is to provide a current intensity greater than the one that the photovoltaic device can deliver at a specific moment.
Solar energy
Solar energy is the energy which comes from sun's core based on a nuclear fusion process and which reaches us in the form of electromagnetic radiation (light, heat and ultraviolet rays, principally). The use of this renewable energy can be done by high temperature thermal conversion or by photovoltaic conversion.
Solar kit
A photovoltaic solar kit serves to capture solar energy and transform it into electricity. A solar kit is formed by panels, batteries, an inverter or converter and the charge regulator. It is easy to install, it requires little maintenance, it has a long useful life and it is resistant to adverse weather conditions.
Solar lights
Solar lights function without an electricity connection thanks to the solar panel which powers them. They can light up the inside of a house, form part of the urban property or, for example, light up parks, gardens or highways.
Solar panels
A solar panel is a device used to capture and absorb solar radiation and transform it into energy. There are photovoltaic and thermal panels. Photovoltaic panels are formed by a set of photoelectric cells which, connected to each other, are capable of producing electrical energy. Thermal panels absorb solar energy to be able to heat up water and have heating.
T
Telemanagement meter
The telemanagement meter is the tool which replaces the traditional electrical meters and which allows technicians to read the electricity consumption and carry out operations remotely.
Thermal energy
Thermal energy (also known as caloric or calorific energy) is the way that energy manifests itself in the form of heat. It is obtained naturally, mostly through the combustion of fossil fuels, through electrical energy due to the Joule effect, through a nuclear fission process or through friction.
U
Underfloor heating
The so-called underfloor heating is a heating method which consists of distributing heat in a home by heating the house floor. There are two types of underfloor heating: The radiant wire or electric underfloor heating, which heats the floor through a conductive electric cable placed inside it, and the underfloor water heating, consisting of a network of pipes located inside the floor which hot water circulates through.
W
Wind energy
Wind energy is the energy which uses the force of the wind to generate electricity. The principal mean to obtain this renewable energy are wind turbines (or windmills), which thanks to their blades transform the wind's kinetic energy into mechanical energy.
Wind generator
A wind generator (also known as a wind turbine) is a large-size windmill connected to an electricity generator, which takes advantage of the force of the wind to move its blades and produce energy.
Windmill
A windmill is a machine that uses wind energy for several tasks. This energy comes from the action of the force of the wind on the oblique blades attached to a common axis. The rotating axis can be connected to different types of machinery in order to generate electricity or pump water, for example.
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device whose function is to transform kinetic wind energy into mechanical energy.
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