The difference between the agreed schedule value and the volume actually purchased or the actual supply of the balance group for each defined measuring period. The electrical energy per measuring period can actually be recorded or calculated.

Electricity supply within a standardized supply period (month, quarter, year) with deliveries from Monday to Sunday and the 24 delivery hours between midnight and 12 pm per delivery day. For example, the energy content amounts to 8,760 MWh for a year with 365 supply days.

The bottleneck capacity is the highest active power that, on the assumption that the required energy sources (water, fuel, etc.) are available, a power plant can sustain permanently.

Control energy (control power) guarantees the supply safety in the event of unforeseen incidents in the power grid. To this end, performance adjustments can be carried out by at short notice for controllable power plants, fast start-up power plants (e.g. gas turbine power plants) can be put into action or pumped storage power plants can be employed.

Energie-Control GmbH is responsible for monitoring, supervising and, if necessary, regulating the implementation of the liberalization of the Austrian electricity and gas market (www.e-control.at).

Electricity generated from renewable, non-fossil energy sources in compliance with the definition in the Eco-Electricity Act, e.g. wind, sun, hydropower, biomass, natural heat of the earth, etc.

Ratio between energy output and energy input at a certain point in time

Eco-Management and Audit Scheme: EU decree on voluntary participation of commercial enterprises in a community system for environmental management and environmental audits.

The EU WFD stipulates that all member states must ensure that all running waters, lakes and groundwaters have a good ecological, chemical and quantitative status by 2015.

The electricity industry’s European lobby (www.eurelectric.org)

State certified authorization for the emission of a certain amount of greenhouse gases. 1 EUA = 1 t CO₂

Forwards are derivatives. They are nonstandardized forward transactions with clearly defined characteristics. In contrast to cash transactions where obligation (e.g. purchase/sale of a share) is immediately followed by fulfillment (delivery), the fulfillment of a forward transaction lies in the future. Unlike options, which are subject to a party’s right though not obligation to exercise the transaction, forwards belong to the group of unconditional forward transactions. In contrast to futures, which are traded on the stock markets, forwards are nonstandardized. The parties themselves negotiate the conditions and the transaction does not take place via the stock market but over the counter.

Physical products or securities are not traded on forward markets. This market focuses on contracts relating to transactions that will be completed in the future. These are known as derivatives. The price for the object is determined at the time the contract is concluded. Forward markets are future-oriented markets that supplement the spot and cash markets.

Denotes an annual base load contract with the start of supply on the first day of the following year. For example: if the trading day is 19 March 2008, the front year base contract runs from 1 January 2009 until 31 December 2009.

Denotes an annual peak load contract with the start of supply on the first day of the following year.

Hedging is the term given to a financial transaction involving the safeguarding of a transaction against risks such as fluctuations in currency rates or changes in commodity prices. Therefore, the transaction is coupled with a further transaction, usually a forward contract. Although a perfect hedge eliminates any risk, this is almost impossible in practice.

Those days in the year that fall below the heating limit temperature. In other words, the average outside daytime temperature lies below the heating limit temperature of +12°C.
The heating degree days represent the amount resulting from the daily recorded differences between the room temperature and average daily outside temperature taken across all heating days in a year. The heating degree days are usually based on an inside temperature of +20°C and a heating limit of +12°C.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a platform for various cooperations, above all in the areas of research, development, market introduction and energy technology application (www.iea.org).

An international set of standards relating to quality management

International standard that refers to environmental management systems

An international set of standards relating to information safety management

1 MW = 1.000 W (see „Watt“)

Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series, industry-independent standard for a workplace safety management system

Electricity supply within a standardized supply period (month, quarter, year) with deliveries from Monday to Sunday and the 12 delivery hours between 8 am and 8 pm per delivery day. For example, the energy content amounts to 3,132 MWh for a year with 261 supply days.

Standard capacity is the electrical energy that can be generated during a normal year, put in relation to the generator terminals, excluding generation from pumped storage. The normal year is a fictitious year – its energy data is computed from averages of a long (as long as possible) series of consecutive years.

Generic term for an institutionalized shortterm market on which spot transactions are carried out bilaterally OTC (over the counter) or through the market. The spot market usually closes 12 hours prior to the execution of the contract (day-ahead).

Union for the Co-ordination of Transmission of Electricity (www.ucte.org)

Austrian Association of Electricity Utilities (www.veoe.at)

The watt is the unit of power in physics; named after the Scottish inventor James Watt.

Austrian Institute for Economic Research (www.wifo.ac.at)