The 2000–2001 California electricity crisis, also known as the Western U.S. energy crisis of 2000 and 2001, was a situation in which the U.S. state of California had a shortage of electricity supply caused by market manipulations and capped retail electricity prices. The state suffered from multiple large-scale blackouts, one of the state's largest energy companies collapsed, and the economic fall-out greatly harmed Governor Gray Davis's standing.
GenOn Energy, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, United States, is energy company that provides electricity to wholesale customers in the United States. The company is one of the largest independent power producers in the nation with more than 7,000 megawatts of power generation capacity across the United States using natural gas, fuel oil and coal. GenOn Energy was headquartered in the Reliant Energy Plaza in Downtown Houston. The company, formerly known as RRI Energy, acquired Mirant on December 3, 2010. The corporate names and logos of both RRI Energy and Mirant were retired.
Scottish Power Limited is a vertically integrated energy company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a subsidiary of Spanish utility firm Iberdrola.
The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), supporting the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (GEMA), is the government regulator for the electricity and downstream natural gas markets in Great Britain. It was formed by the merger of the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER) and Office of Gas Supply (Ofgas).
A transmission system operator (TSO) is an entity entrusted with transporting energy in the form of natural gas or electrical power on a national or regional level, using fixed infrastructure. The term is defined by the European Commission. The certification procedure for transmission system operators is listed in Article 10 of the Electricity and Gas Directives of 2009.
European Energy Exchange (EEX) AG is a central European electric power and related commodities exchange located in Leipzig, Germany. It develops, operates and connects secure, liquid and transparent markets for energy and related products, including power derivative contracts, emission allowances, agricultural and freight products.
The Texas electricity market is deregulated, meaning that there is competition in the generation and distribution of electricity. Power generators in the Texas Interconnection, managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, participate in an energy-only electricity market and are compensated only for the electricity they produce. The wholesale generation market was deregulated in 1995 and the distribution market in 1999, with Texas Senate Bill 7. This replaced the prior system in which power was generated and consumed locally by the same utility with one in which retail providers contracted with generators across the state.
The Eugene Green Energy Standard was an international standard to which national or international green electricity labelling schemes could be accredited to confirm that they provide genuine environmental benefits. It was designed to encourage the generation and use of additional renewable energy sources for electricity generation, although the limited use of additional natural gas-fired cogeneration plant was also supported. Initially funded in part through the EU's clean-e programme, but also including some participants from outside Europe, the Eugene standard was formally discontinued after February 2009.
Energy switching services are companies that have come to exist since the EU began deregulating the gas and electricity markets, to open them to competition, in 1996. Progress has been uneven across member countries, but in the UK there is now open competition among suppliers. Pricing structures and special offers are often complicated enough that it's not obvious which supplier and tariff will be best value for a consumer. This has provided an opportunity for specialist price comparison services. These are chiefly offered by companies who will manage a change to a different supplier and tariff, as well as advising on the best one. These companies primarily operate over the Web, although some also offer a telephone service.
Energy in Kazakhstan describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in Kazakhstan and the politics of Kazakhstan related to energy.
A power purchase agreement (PPA), or electricity power agreement, is a long-term contract between an electricity generator and a customer, usually a utility, government or company. PPAs may last anywhere between 5 and 20 years, during which time the power purchaser buys energy at a pre-negotiated price. Such agreements play a key role in the financing of independently owned electricity generators, especially producers of renewable energy like solar farms or wind farms.
Energinet is the Danish national transmission system operator for electricity and natural gas. It is an independent public enterprise owned by the Danish state under the Ministry of Climate and Energy. Energinet has some 1150 employees, and its headquarters are located in Erritsø near Fredericia in Jutland. The gas division is located in Ballerup near Copenhagen.
Grid parity occurs when an alternative energy source can generate power at a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) that is less than or equal to the price of power from the electricity grid. The term is most commonly used when discussing renewable energy sources, notably solar power and wind power. Grid parity depends upon whether you are calculating from the point of view of a utility or of a retail consumer.
Energy laws govern the use and taxation of energy, both renewable and non-renewable. These laws are the primary authorities related to energy. In contrast, energy policy refers to the policy and politics of energy.
Energy in Armenia is mostly from natural gas. Armenia has no proven reserves of oil or natural gas and currently imports most of its gas from Russia. The Iran-Armenia Natural Gas Pipeline has the capacity to equal imports from Russia.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) performs an array of gas and electricity market, operational, development and planning functions. It manages the National Electricity Market (NEM), the Wholesale Electricity Market (WA) (WEM) and the Victorian gas transmission network. AEMO also facilitates electricity and gas full retail contestability, overseeing these retail markets in eastern and southern Australia. It is additionally responsible for national transmission planning for electricity and the establishment of a Short Term Trading Market (STTM) for gas.
Russia is the fourth largest generator and consumer of electricity in the world. Its 440 power stations have a combined installed generation capacity of 220 GW.
Energy in Ukraine is mainly from gas and coal, followed by nuclear and oil. The coal industry has been disrupted by conflict. Most gas and oil is imported, but since 2015 energy policy has prioritised diversifying energy supply.
Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT) is an EU regulation designed to increase the transparency and stability of the European energy markets while combating insider trading and market manipulation. REMIT was adopted in the European Union in 2011. Part of the regulation went into immediate effect in all EU member states, with some obligations around registration and transaction reporting only coming into effect once the REMIT Implementing Acts have been passed. The EU agency ACER has been tasked with the supervision and regulation of energy markets in accordance with REMIT.
Commodity product Markup Language (CpML) is an industry standard used in wholesale energy trading. CpML is an XML-based business mark-up language used for interoperable representation of energy trades for the purpose of post-deal-execution processes like deal confirmation and regulatory reporting.
