Glossary

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Asset Trading: Asset Trading at an energy service provider like Atel is concerned with optimising the pool of power stations in the international trade in electricity and in cross-border transport rights. Its responsibilities include long-term planning of power stations, safeguarding of the position of the power stations in the international market, spot trading on exchanges and the OTC, all trading with cross-border capacities, intra-day trading (trade within 24 hours) and management of the utilisation of the power station pool. Asset Trading makes a substantial contribution to the success of Atel as a production-based energy trader through optimum utilisation of power stations and international spot trading.

Balancing energy: Power volume to balance differences between the forecasted and the actual power flow.

Call: An option which authorises the buyer to buy a specific number of the underlying contract at the exercise price on the exercise day.

Derivative: Financial instrument whose own value depends on the value of an underlying security.

Hydroelectric power generation: Electricity generated in power stations using water power.

Intraday trading: Short-term trading with physical delivery on the same day.

Nuclear power station: Nuclear power stations are a type of thermal power station. Nuclear power stations generate heat for the steam circuit from the controlled fission of uranium atomic nuclei, which also gives rise to radioactive fission products. Nuclear power stations therefore incorporate multiple containment zones to prevent hazards to the surrounding environment. Like run-of-river power stations, nuclear power stations generate base load energy.

Peak energy: Peak energy is the proportion of daily electricity needs where demand exceeds the basic level. Heavy swings in peak demand are primarily met by highly controllable storage power stations located in the Alps.
Portfolio management: The active management at a central location of various products traded in the market in order to achive a sustained increase in profits within a predefined risk/reward ratio, taking account of additional boundary conditions.

Schedule-balance group system (SBG system): The schedule-balance group system is used to implement energy schedules in Switzerland. Electrical energy is exchanged over the Swiss transmission grid within the Swiss control area, between Swiss balance areas and with control areas outside Switzerland, exclusively via schedule messages to the SBG system. This ensures reliable electricity deliveries, based on European standards, for domestic and foreign electricity traders. ETRANS successfully introduced the SBG system for Swiss power exchange companies on 14 December 2005.
Spot market: The market for electricity transactions that relate to a particular period of time when the electricity is delivered or drawn, with the objective of building up or balancing trading positions.
Storage power station: Storage power stations are hydroelectric power stations fed by at least one mountain reservoir. They can be brought into operation within a few minutes if required. Their output is a function of (a) the difference in altitude between the reservoir and the powerhouse, and (b) the turbine flow rate. Storage power stations meet approximately one third of Switzerland’s electricity needs.

Thermal power generation: Electricity generated in thermal power stations (nuclear, coal-fired, gas-fired or oil-fired).
Trading volume: Trading volume denotes the volume under purchase and sale contracts entered into that become due for fulfilment in the reporting year and subsequent years.

Volatility: Time-series fluctuation is known in statistics as volatility. The term is frequently used in financial mathematics as a measure of the overall risk of an investment or funding opportunity. Its most frequent use in electricity trading is in the context of speculative exchange transactions, where the shorter the term of the product, the greater its volatility exposure.