Glossary
ABI Association of British Insurers, a body which, inter alia, sets standards of corporate governance on behalf of Insurance companies.
ANP American National Power (now International Power America).
Availability A measure giving the proportion of electrical energy that was available during a period of time, after taking account of both planned and unplanned outages.
Bond Security that obligates the issuer (International Power) to make specified payments to the bondholder (financial institutions).
Brownfield Building a plant on a previously operational site.
CCGT Combined cycle gas turbine - turbines that are typically fuelled by natural gas, are used to drive generators and use exhaust gases to produce steam that in turn drives an additional turbine coupled to a generator.
CO Carbon monoxide.
CO2 Carbon dioxide.
Cogeneration The simultaneous generation of electricity and heat, typically where the need for both arises for industrial or commercial purposes.
CR Corporate responsibility.
Dark spread The difference between the cost of coal to generate electricity and the price at which that electricity is sold.
Debt capitalisation Net debt divided by the sum of the net debt and total equity.
Emission allowances Under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme allowances are granted to entities under a cap and trade emission scheme. Credits can also be purchased by entities to enable them to emit additional CO2.
EPS Earnings per share, calculated by dividing the profit after interest, tax and minority interests by the weighted average number of shares in issue.
FGD Flue gas desulphurisation.
Gearing Net debt divided by total equity.
Generator nameplate capacity (installed) The maximum output of a generator, under specific conditions designated by the manufacturer. Installed generator capacity is commonly expressed in megawatts (MW) and is usually indicated on a nameplate physically attached to the generator.
Greenfield Building a plant on a new site.
GW Gigawatt; one gigawatt equals 1,000,000 kW.
GWh Gigawatt-hour; one GWh represents one hour of electricity consumption at a constant rate of 1 GW.
Heat rate A measure of the thermal efficiency achieved by a power station.
Hedge contracts A contract that gives protection against risks of future commodity price movements.
HSE Health, safety and environment.
HUBCO The Hub Power Company.
IFRS International Financial Reporting Standards.
IPP Independent power producer.
ISO 14001 The international standard of environment management systems.
KAPCO The Kot Addu Power Company.
KPI Key performance indicator.
kW Kilowatt; a kilowatt is a unit of power, representing the rate at which energy is used or produced (ie, the product of voltage and current).
kWh Kilowatt-hour; one KWh represents one hour of electricity consumption at a constant rate of 1 KW.
LNG Liquefied natural gas.
Load factor The proportion of electricity actually sold, compared with the maximum possible sales of electricity at maximum net capacity.
LTIP Long-term incentive plan.
Merchant market A merchant market is a deregulated market.
Merchant plant Merchant plants operate in deregulated markets selling power into the traded market without long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs).
Mitsui Mitsui & Co., LTD. Our partners in IPM Eagle LLP.
MIGD Millions of imperial gallons per day.
MW Megawatt; one MW equals 1,000 kilowatts.
MWh Megawatt-hour; one MWh represents one hour of electricity consumption at a constant rate of 1 MW.
MWth One megawatt of thermal power.
National Allocation Plan The Plan issued under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme that sets out how greenhouse gas emission allowances will be allocated to affected industry sectors and the assets within the relevant sector.
National Power National Power PLC and its subsidiary undertakings prior to the demerger of International Power
NEPOOL New England Power Pool.
NETA New Electricity Trading Arrangements in England and Wales.
NOx Oxides of nitrogen.
Non–recourse debt Debt secured on an asset, and where the lender has no recourse to the shareholder.
O&M Operations and maintenance, usually used in the context of operating and maintaining a power station.
OFR Operational and Financial Review
OCGT Open cycle gas turbine - turbines, typically fuelled by gas or diesel oil, are used to drive the generators to produce electricity.
Offtake agreement Power purchase agreement between a company owning a power station and its customer (the offtaker) whereby the customer takes the electricity generated by a power station.
OFGEM The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets.
OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series 18001. A management system specification developed by British Standards Institute, for health and safety which is compatible with ISO 9001:1994 (Quality) and ISO 14001:1996 (Environmental) management.
PBIT Profit before interest and tax.
Peak load The maximum demand for electricity during a specified high demand period. This may require use of plant (for example pumped storage) that is kept in reserve for peak periods.
PFO Profit from operations, which includes profit after interest, tax and minority interests of joint ventures and associates.
PPA Power Purchase Agreement (see also Offtake agreement).
Recourse debt Debt where the lender has recourse to parties other than the borrower, usually a parent company or shareholder.
Reserve margin The amount of plant reserve capacity above the system's peak electricity requirements.
Rights Issue The offer of new shares to shareholders pro-rata to their current holding, usually at a discounted price.
RPI Retail Price Index.
SO2 Sulphur dioxide.
Spark spread The difference between the fuel costs to generate electricity and the price at which electricity is sold.
TW Terawatt; one TW equals 1,000,000 MW.
TWh Terawatt-hour; one TWh represents one hour of electricity consumption at a constant rate of 1 TW.
UK GAAP Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the UK.
US Sarbanes-Oxley Act The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was enacted in reaction to the highly publicised bankruptcies of Enron and WorldCom and is concerned with strictly enforcing corporate governance and financial disclosure.
