Abatement: actions taken by an organisation or individual to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Absorption: the transfer of energy from one source to another, with a possible change in form. 

Alternating current: electricity current that reverses its direction many times a second at regular intervals.

Baseload: a steady supply of electricity generated.

Business Energy Advice Program (beap): a free energy advisory service that delivers face-to-face, phone and digital advice to small businesses across Australia. Beap is funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources and delivered by My Business.

Biofuel: fuel produced from biomass.

Black energy: energy created from coal or other fossil fuels.

By-product: something produced as a result of the manufacture of something else. 

Capacity factor: the amount of energy the plant produced during a period, divided by the amount of energy the plant would have produced at full capacity.

Carbon footprint: a measurement of the amount of carbon dioxide equivalent emitted can be measured on various levels, such as personal, business or national.

Climate change: change in climate over time due to nature or as a result of human intervention.

Coal: a combustible black or brown organic rock, comprising mostly carbon and typically found as layers (coal beds) or veins (coal seams).

Conventional gas: natural gas found in permeable sandstone reservoirs and is easy to get out of the ground through traditional well drilling techniques.

Distribution: electricity transported to homes and businesses along power lines.

Electric cell: a device that produces or stores electricity (e.g. a battery).

Electric meter: a device measuring electricity consumed. 

Electrical current: the rate electricity flows through an electrical conductor, usually measured in amps.

Electricity grid: the network that carries electricity from suppliers to consumers.

Emissions: substances released into the environment.

Flat rate: a pricing contract with a retailer where a customer is charged the same rate for electricity.

Fossil fuels: fuels derived from fossilised organic matter such as coal, oil and petroleum.

Fuse: a safety device that protects electrical appliances. If the flow of electricity becomes too powerful, the current stops flowing.

Gas: an air-like state of matter. It is sometimes used to describe hydrocarbons such as methane (CH4) and ethane (C2H6).

Global warming: a gradual increase in temperature in climate.

Green energy: energy generated from renewable energy sources such as hydropower, solar, biomass or wind.

Grid: the distribution networks that deliver electricity from generators to homes and businesses.

Hydroelectric: using water to generate electricity.

Hydropower: energy from falling or flowing water to create electricity. 

Hydrothermal energy: electricity generated from heating fluids, such as water. 

Insulation: materials in your home which prevent heat transfer.

Joule: the primary measure of energy in the metric system.

Kilowatt (kW): measurement of electricity. One kW = one thousand (1,000) watts.

Mains electricity: electricity supplied to homes from the national grid.

Meter: a device measuring the amount of electricity used at home, business or equipment.

Natural gas: a combustible and colourless mix of hydrocarbon gases consisting mainly of methane (CH4).

Non-renewable energy: the energy that cannot be replaced once used — for example, coal, natural gas and crude oil.

Off-peak: electricity provided during set times of the day when homes and businesses use a lot less electricity.

Peak: electricity provided during set times of the day when demand is highest. 

Production well: a well drilled with the purpose of extracting light oil or natural gas from a reservoir.

Renewable energy: the energy that comes from sources that will never run out (i.e. wind, sunlight, tides, gravity and geothermal heat).

Standby power: the power used by an appliance when it is not performing its primary function.

Tariff: the rate at which energy is charged. 

Tidal power: the energy created from the movement of tides.

Time-of-use: a pricing contract with a retailer where a customer is charged a different price according to when they use energy. 

Transformer: equipment used to either increase or decrease electricity voltage.

Unconventional gas: natural gas not found in permeable sandstone reservoirs (which is the case for conventional gas).

Voltage: electrical force that drives an electric current between points.

Watt (W): a unit of power. One watt is the expenditure of one joule of energy per second.

Wave power: a renewable source of energy using the movement of ocean waves to generate electricity.

Wholesale electricity market: the market where electricity is purchased and sold.

Wind energy: a renewable source of energy from air flowing over the earth's surface used to create electricity.