Gas Glossary of Terms
B C D E F G I K L M N O P S T W
Beach Price
The cost of gas as it comes ashore in Britain at 5 Beachhead terminals (4 on the East coast 1 on the West).
BOM
Balance of Month: BOW – Balance of week.
British Gas
The original nationalised industry - supplied 100% of the gas consumed by industry/domestic prior to privatisation.
Calorific Value
The amount of energy produced by the combination of a specified quantity of fuel.
COG
Cost of Gas.
Correction Factor
Volume of gas recorded by the meter which is adjusted to take into account of standard temperature & pressure conditions.
Daily Balance
Compares shippers’ input and output allocations. If they are more than a pre-determined % out of balance, additional charges are made.
DataLoggers (or Chatterbox or AMR’s – automated meter reader)
A remote reading device that fits to a supply/meter and takes regular pulse readings that can be sent by telecom lines to a central reading point.
Day Ahead (DA)
The next day trading price.
Emergency Contact Details
Sites which consumes over 732,678 kWh pa (25,000 therms pa) are required by law to provide either one 24 hr contact or three key holders to site should National Grid Transco need to gain access in an emergency situation.
Firm Supply
Standard constant supply of gas.
Flexible Contracts
Gas Contracts for larger users that allow the cost of gas to be purchased separately either on the Day or Month Ahead Indices whilst the transportation & metering charges are fixed throughout the contract.
GBA
Gas Balancing Alert
Interruptible Supply
Gas supply which can be interrupted by supplier or customer depending on the terms of the contract and facilities on site.
KWh
Measurement of energy consumed - since 1992 all gas billed has been in KWh and not therms.
LDZ
Local Distribution Zone
LNG
Liquid Natural Gas
Load Factor
The relationship between daily average and maximum consumptions.
Minimum & Maximum Consumption (Take or Pay)
Percentage set by the supplier which the customer must abide to or receive additional costs.
Month Ahead (MA)
The next month trading price
MPR
Gas meter point reference number.
National Grid Transco
Manages the network and they maintain records of every consumer linked to the Network (excluding private networks), including shippers & consumers.
Network Code
The legal document, which will record the common rights and responsibilities of each of the parties to future contracts - also used to describe the regime, which is defined by the document.
Nominated Consumption
Total gas a site is expected to consume over a year registered at National Grid Transco.
Nominated Supply
A shipper will request confirmation from Transco that a site qualifies and is available for a contract placement - this process is the nomination.
OFGEM
The Office For Gas and Electricity Markets - the regulator of the competitive industry with power to protect and adjudicate in disputes.
Pipeline Capacity
The maximum capacity depending on the diameter of the pipe and the maximum pressure at which gas can be pumped along it.
Shipper
They buy gas from the producer, and sell it to the suppliers, employing Transco to get the gas between the two.
Spot Market
The ‘prompt’ physical / cash market for both gas and electricity
The Producer
They explore for gas, drill wells and flow gas out of the ground. Nearly all operate offshore.
Therms
Consumption measurement. i.e. 1 therm = 29.3041 KWh
Transportation Charges
With effect from 1 October 2006 the revised charges will be: -
National Transmission System (NTS) Transmission Operator Commodity Charge levied on entry flows will be increased fro 0.0079p/kWh to 0.0164p/kWh.
NTS Transmission Operator Exit Capacity charges will uniformly increase by a rate of 8.6%.
NTS System Operator Commodity Charge, as applied to both entry & exit flows, will decrease by 5.8% to 0.0114p/kWh which take into account revised forecasts.
Within Day (WD)
The days trading price.
