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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br />ELK RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES COMMONLY USED ACRONYMS <br /> <br />Page 11 of 15 <br /> <br /> <br />81. PSE – Power Systems Engineering, Inc. – A full-service consulting firm for electric <br />utilities, independent power producers. They also serve commercial and industrial <br />electric users which includes distribution cooperatives, generation and transmission <br />cooperatives, investor-owned utilities, municipal utilities, public utility districts, and <br />industry associations. <br /> <br />82. PUC – Public Utilities Commission – A governmental agency in a particular <br />jurisdiction that regulates the commercial activities of electric, natural gas, <br />telecommunications, water, railroad, rail transit, and/or passenger transportation <br />companies. <br /> <br />83. PUD – Public Utilities District – Community-owned, locally regulated utilities that are <br />formed by a vote of the people. PUDs are run by an elected, board of <br />commissioners. <br /> <br />84. PURPA – Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act – A federal act passed in 1978 to <br />encourage conservation, efficiency, equitable rates, and expanding domestic energy <br />sources. PURPA established a new class of generating facilities known as “qualifying <br />facilities” which typically either utilize primarily renewable energy or make use of <br />the thermal energy that is a biproduct of normal generation. <br /> <br />85. PV – Photovoltaic – PV devices generate electricity directly from sunlight via an <br />electronic process that occurs naturally in certain types of material, called <br />semiconductors. Electrons in these materials are freed by solar energy and can be <br />induced to travel through an electrical circuit, powering electrical devices or sending <br />electricity to the grid. <br /> <br />86. PVB – Pressure Vacuum Breaker – A type of backflow prevention device used to <br />protect the water supply from contamination. The PVB is the most common, and <br />economical type of whole-system backflow preventor. This type of assembly is <br />typically used in residential irrigation applications. <br /> <br /> <br />Q <br /> <br />87. QF – Qualifying Facility – A designation for power generating facilities established by <br />the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). Qualifying Facilities typically fall <br />into two categories. A small power production facility is 80 MW or less with a <br />primary energy source that is renewable (hydro, wind or solar), biomass, waste, or <br />geothermal. A cogenerational facility produces electricity and another form of useful <br />thermal energy (such as heat or steam) in a way that is more efficient than the <br />separate production of both forms of energy. ERMU’s landfill-gas-to-electric plant is <br />also a QF. <br /> <br /> <br />225