Grand Rapids Public Utilities - Acronyms, Explanations and Definitions

Grand Rapids Public Utilities
Grand Rapids Public Utilities Acronyms, Explanations and Definitions
Abbreviation or Term Notes
AFSCME American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees - A trade union of which GRPU employees are members.
AMI Advanced Metering Infrastructure - Two way communication system to collect detailed electric and water meter information.
AMR Automated Meter Reading - Older one-way technology used to collect meter readings usually by walking or driving by the meter.
APPA American Public Power Association - National association representing not-for-profit, community-owned public power utilities.
AS Activated Sludge - A biological water treatment technology used in municipal wastewater treatment, including GRPU WWTP operations.
AWWA American Water Works Association - National association dedicated to providing water solutions assuring the effective management of water.
BMPs Best Management Practices - A practice, or combination of practices, that is determined to be an effective and practicable means of achieving the intended outcome.
cBOD Carbonaceous Biochemical Oxygen Demand - A subset of BOD that is a way to measure organic pollution in water by looking at the rate at which micro-organisms in the water use up dissolved oxygen (DO) when the metabolize the organic pollutants.
COU Consumer-Owned Utilities - A utility, often called a cooperative, where the ratepayers own the utility rather than corporate shareholders such as Lake Country Power.
CSC Combined Service Center - The building located at 500 SE 4th Street that is used by employees of both the City of Grand Rapids Public Works and the Grand Rapids Public Utilities.
CSR Customer Service Representative - At GRPU, the CSRs are part of the Business Services Department in the GRPU organizational chart.
Deferred Comp Deferred Compensation Plan - A 457 Plan, or a tax deferred retirement savings plan in which funds are withdrawn from an employee's income without being taxed and are only taxed upon withdrawal, which is typically at retirement, after the funds have had several years to grow.
DER Distributed Energy Resources - Smaller generation units that are located on the consumer's side of the meter, such as rooftop solar, wind turbines, battery storage electric vehicles.
DO Dissolved Oxygen - A measure of how much oxygen is dissolved in water and available to living aquatic organisms. Because GRPU WWTP discharges to the river, we have a DO limit in our NPDES permit.
DR Demand Response - Using time-based pricing and other incentives to provide customers the ability to choose to reduce or shift their electricity use, particularly during peak demand periods. Examples are often called load management rates such as controlled water heating, controlled dual fuel, storage heat, and air conditioning credits.
ESA Electric Service Agreement - A contract that specifies the sale and purchase of power from one entity to another.  GRPU has an ESA with MP for wholesale power supply.
EV Electric Vehicle - A vehicle that is either partially or fully powered on electric power.
FERC Federal Energy Regulatory Commission - The agency that regulates the wholesale electric and gas markets.
FOG Fats, Oils, & Greases - Food industry byproducts that can cause significant problems in the sanitary sewer system.
GRPU Grand Rapids Public Utilities - Use this abbreviation for departments and tasks related to employees and customers
GRPUC Grand Rapids Public Utilities Commission - Use this abbreviation for Commission actions and items
IOU Investor-Owned Utility - Private, for-profit corporations, such as Minnesota Power or Xcel Energy, whose rates are regulated by the MN PUC.
ITC Investment Tax Credit - A federal corporate tax credit for renewable and alternative energy technologies.  US Solar utilitized ITCs as part of the funding for the Itasca Clean Energy Solar plus Storage project.
kW Kilowatt - A unit of power equal to 1000 watts.
kWh Kilowatt hour - A unit of energy equivalent to 1 kilowatt of power sustained for 1 hour.
LIHEAP Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program - A federal program that helps low income consumers pay their energy bills. LIHEAP funds portions of the Kootasca Energy Assistance Program.
LMC League of Minnesota Cities
MESERB Minnesota Environmental Science and Economic Review Board - A municipal joint powers organization dedicated to the research, study, and analysis of water quality issues.
MGD Million Gallons Per Day
mg/L Milligrams per liter - Same as part per million (ppm) 
MISO Midcontinent  Independent System Operator - Independent not-for-profit, member based organization that manages the generation and transmission, the energy markets, and plans the future grid needs for a 15 state area including MN.
MMUA Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association - Statewide organization representing the interests of municipal electric, gas, and water utilities.
MN PUC Minnesota Public Utilities Commission - State agency that regulates the electric, gas, and landline telephone services of investor owned utilities (IOU) and some municipally-owned utilities.  GRPU is regulated locally by the Commission and City Council.
MN SEIA MN Solar Energy Industries Association -  Statewide affiliation of the federal SEIA whose mission is to grow the solar and energy storage industries as part of the state's clean energy transition.
MPCA Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - State agency that focuses on preventing and reducing pollution of air, land, and water.
MRWA Minnesota Rural Water Association - Statewide organization providing training and technical assistance to small and/or rural water and wastewater utilities.
MW Megawatt - A unit of power equal to 1000 kW or 1 million watts.
NEMMPA Northeastern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency - An agency of 15 municipal utilities in Northeastern Minnesota working to to secure adequate, economical and reliable supply of electric energy for their utilities.
NERC North American Electric Reliability Corporation - A not for profit international regulatory authority who develops and enforces reliability standards.
NESC Northeast Service Cooperative - A nonprofit public corporation that offers services and programs to schools, cities, and other governmental agencies in northeastern MN.
NPDES National Pollution Discharge Elimination System - Created in 1972 by the Clean Water Act under the EPA, the NPDES permit program that addresses water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge to water of the US.
NREL National Renewable Energy Laboratory - A national laboratory of the US Dept of Energy that focuses on creative answers to today's energy challenges.
O&M Operations and Maintenance - those procedures and expenses related to the operations and maintenance of a particular utility.
OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration - Part of the US Dept of Labor that oversees the safe and healthful working conditions by setting and enforcing standards.
Peak Demand Day The day of the month on which GRPU had the highest electrical demand.
PERA Public Employees Retirement Association - A lifetime income, cost-sharing retirement plan for Minnesota public employees.
PILOT (PILT) Payment-In-Lieu-Of-Taxes - A payment made from a utility to the local government to compensate for property tax revenue lost due to the utility's tax exempt ownership and use of real property.
Policy At GRPU, a formal policy that has been adopted by the Grand Rapids Public Utilities Commission.
PPA Power Purchase Agreement - A contract specifying the terms and conditions under which electric power will be generated and purchased.  MP has a PPA with US Solar for the energy production at the Itasca Clean Energy Solar plus Storage site.
PPM Parts per million - Same as mg/L
Potable Water that is safe to drink.
POU  Publicly-Owned Utilities - Publicly or community owned, not for profit utilities that are federal-, state-, or municipal-run, such as Grand Rapids Public Utilities.
PSI Pounds per Square Inch - a measurement of pressure often used with pumps.
PV Photovoltaic - relating to generating electric power by using solar cells to convert energy from the sun into a flow of electrons by the photovoltaic effect.
SOP Standard Operating Procedure - At GRPU, SOPs are internal documents located in the Toolbox that identify a workflow or process.
Surplus Items GRPU equipment that is no longer of use to the utility and being made available for sale to the public.
TOU Time Of Use - In rate settings, TOU refers to electricity prices that vary depending on the time periods in which the energy is consumed. Higher prices are charged during utility peak load times and lower prices are charged during off peak times.  TOU rates provide an incentive for customers to curb power use during peak times.
TDS Total Dissolved Solids - Solids present in water at such a small size that you can't see them and that require advanced filtration technologies to remove.
TSS Total Suspended Solids - visible solids in water such as silt and decaying matter that can be trapped by a filter.
WTP Water Treatment Plant - A municipal facility that treats water for potable purposes.  GRPU's water treatment plant located at 936 NW 6th Avenue.
WWTP  Wastewater Treatment Plant - A municipal facility that treats wastewater.  GRPU's wastewater treatment plant located at 1105 SE 23rd Avenue.

 

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