Here's an explanation of the terms we use.

• General Remarks

   

  The publication does not include capacities, which are in cold reserve, used directly for providing electricity for rail services, used for the contribution of ancillary services or from small power stations under 20 MWs.

   

  Jointly owned capacities, for which no agreements for the publication of data have been signed by the other partners, are also not included.

   

  If one of our partners operates a jointly owned capacity and publishes its data, E.ON Energie’s share is published by the partner.

   

  Irrespective of E.ON Energie’s share, 100 % of the capacity is reported.

• Ancillary Services

   

  Transmission System Operators must provide the following ancillary services which are vital to the operation of the electricity system and essential to the quality of the supply:
  

  • frequency stability
  • voltage stability
  • restoration of supply
  • system operation

• Cold Reserve

   

  Power station blocks, which are in cold reserve, are taken out of operation and can be returned only after a long lead time. It may be necessary to gain approval from the authorities to bring it back into operation.

• Electric Generation

   

  The unit used for electric generation or electric energy is the kilowatt hour (kWh) along with multiples thereof, e.g. a megawatt hour (MWh).

   

  Units
  1 kWh = 1 kilowatt hour = 1,000 Wh
  1 MWh = 1 megawatt hour = 1,000 kWh
  1 GWh = 1 gigawatt hour = 1,000 MWh = 1 million kWh
  1 TWh = 1 terawatt hour = 1,000 GWh = 1 billion kWh
  
  Examples of Electric Energy
  
  The average amount of electricity consumed by German households is...

  • approximately 1,600 kWh for a one-person household.
    
  • approximately 2,800 kWh for a two-person household.
    
  • approximately 3,900 kWh for a three-person household.
    
  • approximately 4,500 kWh for a four-person household.
    
  • approximately 5,300 kWh for a household of five or more.

  (Source: German Electricity Industry Association-VDEW.)

   

  It takes one kilowatt hour (kWh) of electric energy to...

   

  • wash 5.6 kg of laundry.
    
  • chill 160 l of beer.
    
  • travel 1.5 km by car.
    
  • illuminate a room for 16 hours (using a 60 W bulb) or for 90 hours (using an 11 W energy-saving bulb).
    
  • cook 240 eggs for breakfast.
    
  • toast 133 slices of bread.
• Electrical Capacity

   

  Electrical capacity is the term used to describe the intensity with which energy is generated or consumed at a certain point in time (power = work/time). The higher the power of an electric device, the more energy (i.e. work) is consumed over a certain time period (e.g. an hour).
  The unit used is a watt (W) along with multiples thereof, e.g. a kilowatt (kW) or megawatt (MW).
  
  Units
  1 kW = 1 kilowatt = 1,000 watts
  1 MW = 1 megawatt = 1,000 kW
  1 GW = 1 gigawatt = 1,000 MW
  
  Examples of Electric Output
  
  A PC has...

   

  • approximately 150 W when connected to a conventional monitor.
  • approximately 70 W when connected to a flat screen.
• European Energy Exchange (EEX)

   

  The European Energy Exchange AG (EEX) is a spot and forward trading platform for electricity, CO₂, coal and gas. At present, it is Continental Europe's largest energy exchange based on the number of traders (177 traders from 19 countries as of the end of September 2007) and trading volume.

  Every trading day, the spot market is the platform used for conducting auctions and the continuous trading of electricity (for next-day delivery in Germany, Switzerland and Austria) and of emissions allowances.

  The forward market is where electricity, emissions, gas and coal contracts are traded, with delivery up to six years.

  Around-the-clock intraday trading was introduced to the EEX in September 2006. This is the platform for trading hourly power deliveries up to 75 minutes prior to the beginning of the target hour.

• Ex Ante Data

   

  Ex Ante figures represent the expected available capacity in megawatts of power plants for the following day and an additional 364 days.

  Ex Ante data are updated on the basis of the level of our company’s knowledge at 8:30 a.m. ("snapshot"). Available capacity can change as a result of unforeseeable events and changes in planning. The Ex Ante message is updated usually at about 9:00 a.m. every day.

   

  The EEX Energy Exchange in Leipzig, Germany, uses the term "available capacity" instead of "ex ante".

• Ex Post Data

   

  Ex Post figures represent power plant generation in gigawatt hours. Disclosed generation corresponds to the amount of electricity fed into the public grid. The EEX Energy Exchange in Leipzig, Germany, uses the term "effective generation" instead of "ex post."

   

  Ex Post data is updated usually at about 3:00 p.m.

• Fuel Type

   

  Natural resources such as coal, oil, gas and uranium are fuel types. Water, wind and sunlight, which can be used to generate electricity, are also considered to be fuel types.

• Installed Capacity

   

  Installed capacity is the term used to define the net electrical capacity of the power plant units. A plant's net electrical capacity (installed nominal capacity according to the VGB PowerTech e.V.) represents the highest continuous output under nominal operating conditions achieved by a plant at the time of commercial operation.

• Urgent Market Message (UMM)

   

  Urgent market messages (UMM) include information on unforeseeable power plant outages. Unplanned outages are published in UMM within 30 minutes. Events are reported if they limit the availability of a power plant unit by more than 100 MW.

• VGB PowerTech e.V.

   

  VGB PowerTech e.V. is the technical association for power and heat generation in Europe (www.vgb.org).