Electric Utility Glossary - Section N
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National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) – Formed in 1942, NRECA serves as an advocate for more than 900 consumer-owned electric cooperatives in 47 states. www.nreca.org
NERC – See North American Electric Reliability Council
Network – The term network is applied to two applications. In the computer world, it refers to interconnected computers. In a distribution system, it is the underground system (nominally 208Y/120 Volts on the low-voltage side) found in the city center of most large cities. In some utilities, a third definition is used by some of the employees. These employees use the term network to refer to the transmission system.
Neutral – Either a current-carrying wire or cable that should have zero voltage between it and ground, or a connection point that should have zero voltage between it and ground.
Neutral Conductor – A current-carrying wire or cable that should have zero voltage between it and ground.
NLTC –An acronym for No Load Tap Changer. A no-load tap changer is a device that will change a transformer’s turns ratio, and therefore the output voltage. It is designed to be operated without any current flowing in the transformer windings.
North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) – The organization whose mission is to maximize electric system reliability in North America. It is based in Princeton, NJ. There are eight regional organizations under NERC. These are the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) located in Austin; the Florida Reliability Coordinating Council (FRCC) in Tampa; the Midwest Reliability Organization (MRO) located in St. Paul, Minnesota; the Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC) in New York, New York; the Reliability First Corporation (RFC) in Canton, OH; the Southeast Electric Reliability Council (SERC) located in Birmingham, Alabama; the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) in Little Rock, Arkansas; and the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Each of the eight subgroups of NERC listed above has the mission of proactively and retroactively improving the reliability in its geographic area. Proactively, each reliability organization collects information on disturbances in its system, analyzes this information, and oversees implementation of corrective action. It also solicits information from utilities regarding reliability and coordinates the implementation of better operating practices. Retroactively, each reliability organization collects and analyzes information from major outages, and oversees the implementation of corrective action to prevent similar future outages. www.nerc.com
Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC) – See NERC.
NPCC - Northeast Power Coordinating Council – See NERC.
NRECA – See National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
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