Dictionary of Energy - R

Rack sales: Wholesale truckload sales or smaller of gasoline where title transfers at a terminal.

Radiant barrier: A thin, reflective foil sheet that exhibits low radiant energy transmission and under certain conditions can block radiant heat transfer; installed in attics to reduce heat flow through a roof assembly into the living space.

Radiant ceiling panels: Ceiling panels that contain electric resistance heating elements embedded within them to provide radiant heat to a room.

Radiant energy: Energy that transmits away from its source in all directions.

Radiation: The transfer of heat through matter or space by means of electromagnetic waves.

Radiative forcing: A change in average net radiation at the top of the troposphere (known as the tropopause) because of a change in either incoming solar or exiting infrared radiation. A positive radiative forcing tends on average to warm the earth's surface; a negative radiative forcing on average tends to cool the earth's surface. Greenhouse gases, when emitted into the atmosphere, trap infrared energy radiated from the earth's surface and therefore tend to produce positive radiative forcing. Also see Greenhouse gases.

Radiatively active gases: Gases that absorb incoming solar radiation or outgoing infrared radiation, affecting the vertical temperature profile of the atmosphere. Also see Radiative forcing above.

Radiator: A heating unit usually exposed to view within the room or space to be heated; it transfers heat by radiation to objects within visible range and by conduction to the surrounding air, which in turn is circulated by natural convection; usually fed by steam or hot water.

Radioactive waste: Materials left over from making nuclear energy. Radioactive waste can destroy living organisms if it is not stored safely.

Radioactivity: The spontaneous emission of radiation from the nucleus of an atom. Radionuclides lose particles and energy through this process.

Radioisotope: A radioactive isotope.

Radon: A naturally occurring radioactive gas found in the United States in nearly all types of soil, rock, and water. It can migrate into most buildings. Studies have linked high concentrations of radon to lung cancer.

Rail (method of transportation to consumers): Shipments of coal moved to consumers by rail (private or public/commercial). Includes coal hauled to or away from a railroad siding by truck.

Railroad and railway electric service: Electricity supplied to railroads and interurban and street railways, for general railroad use, including the propulsion of cars or locomotives, where such electricity is supplied under separate and distinct rate schedules.

Railroad locomotive: Self-propelled vehicle that runs on rails and is used for moving railroad cars.

Railroad use: Sales to railroads for any use, including that used for heating buildings operated by railroads.

Range top: The range burners or stove top and the oven are considered two separate appliances. Counted also with range tops are stand-alone "cook tops."

Rankine cycle: The thermodynamic cycle that is an ideal standard for comparing performance of heat-engines, steam power plants, steam turbines, and heat pump systems that use a condensable vapor as the working fluid. Efficiency is measured as work done divided by sensible heat supplied.

Rankine cycle engine: The Rankine cycle system uses a liquid that evaporates when heated and expands to produce work, such as turning a turbine, which when connected to a generator, produces electricity. The exhaust vapor expelled from the turbine condenses and the liquid is pumped back to the boiler to repeat the cycle. The working fluid most commonly used is water, though other liquids can also be used. Rankine cycle design is used by most commercial electric power plants. The traditional steam locomotive is also a common form of the Rankine cycle engine. The Rankine engine itself can be either a piston engine or a turbine.

Rate base: The value of property upon which a utility is permitted to earn a specified rate of return as established by a regulatory authority. The rate base generally represents the value of property used by the utility in providing service and may be calculated by any one or a combination of the following accounting methods: fair value, prudent investment, reproduction cost, or original cost. Depending on which method is used, the rate base includes cash, working capital, materials and supplies, deductions for accumulated provisions for depreciation, contributions in aid of construction, customer advances for construction, accumulated deferred income taxes, and accumulated deferred investment tax credits.

Rate case: A proceeding, usually before a regulatory commission, involving the rates to be charged for a public utility service.

Rate features: Special rate schedules or tariffs offered to customers by electric and/or natural gas utilities.

Rate of return: The ratio of net operating income earned by a utility is calculated as a percentage of its rate base.

Rate of return on rate base: The ratio of net operating income earned by a utility, calculated as a percentage of its rate base.

Rate schedule (electric): A statement of the financial terms and conditions governing a class or classes of utility services provided to a customer. Approval of the schedule is given by the appropriate rate-making authority.

Ratemaking authority: A utility commission's legal authority to fix, modify, approve, or disapprove rates as determined by the powers given the commission by a State or Federal legislature.

Rates: The authorized charges per unit or level of consumption for a specified time period for any of the classes of utility services provided to a customer.

Rating: A manufacturer's guaranteed performance of a machine, transmission line, or other electrical apparatus, based on design features and test data. The rating will specify such limits as load, voltage, temperature, and frequency. The rating is generally printed on a nameplate attached to equipment and is commonly referred to as the nameplate rating or nameplate capacity.

Ratio estimate: The ratio of two population aggregates (totals). For example, "average miles traveled per vehicle" is the ratio of total miles driven by all vehicles, over the total number of vehicles, within any subgroup. There are two types of ratio estimates: those computed using aggregates for vehicles and those computed using aggregates for households.

Ratoon crop: A crop cultivated from the shoots of a perennial plant.

Rayleigh frequency distribution: A mathematical representation of the frequency or ratio that specific wind speeds occur within a specified time interval.

Reactance: A phenomenon associated with AC power characterized by the existence of a time difference between voltage and current variations.

Reactive power: The portion of electricity that establishes and sustains the electric and magnetic fields of alternating-current equipment.  Reactive power must be supplied to most types of magnetic equipment, such as motors and transformers. Reactive power is provided by generators, synchronous condensers, or electrostatic equipment such as capacitors and directly influences electric system voltage. It is a derived value equal to the vector difference between the apparent power and the real power.  It is usually expressed as kilovolt-amperes reactive (kVAR) or megavolt-ampere reactive (MVAR).  See Apparent Power, Power, Real Power

Real dollars: These are dollars that have been adjusted for inflation.

Real Power: The component of electric power that performs work, typically measured in kilowatts (kW) or megawatts (MW)--sometimes referred to as Active Power.  The terms “real” or “active” are often used to modify the base term “power” to differentiate it from Reactive Power and Apparent Power. See Apparent Power, Power, Reactive Power

Real price: A price that has been adjusted to remove the effect of changes in the purchasing power of the dollar. Real prices, which are expressed in constant dollars, usually reflect buying power relative to a base year.

Reasonably assured resources (RAR): The uranium that occurs in known mineral deposits of such size, grade, and configuration that it could be recovered within the given production cost ranges, with currently proven mining and processing technology. Estimates of tonnage and grade are based on specific sample data and measurements of the deposits and on knowledge of deposit characteristics. RAR correspond to DOE's Reserves category.

Rebate program: A utility company-sponsored conservation program whereby the utility company returns a portion of the purchase price cost when a more energy-efficient refrigerator, water heater, air conditioner, or other appliance is purchased.

Reburn: An advanced co-firing technique using natural gas to reduce pollution from electric power plants.

Receipts:

• Deliveries of fuel to an electric plant
• Purchases of fuel
• All revenues received by an exporter for the reported quantity exported
• Also see Received (below).

Received: Gas (and other fuels) physically transferred into the responding company's transportation, storage, and/or distribution facilities.

Reclamation: Process of restoring surface environment to acceptable pre-existing conditions. Includes surface contouring, equipment removal, well plugging, revegetation, etc.

Reclamation expenses: In the context of the coal operation statement of income, refers to all payments made by the company attributable to reclamation, including taxes.

Recoverability: In reference to accessible coal resources, the condition of being physically, technologically, and economically minable. Recovery rates and recovery factors may be determined or estimated for coal resources without certain knowledge of their economic minability; therefore, the availability of recovery rates or factors does not predict recoverability.

Recoverable coal: Coal that is, or can be, extracted from a coal bed during mining.

Recoverable proved reserves: The proved reserves of natural gas as of December 31 of any given year are the estimated quantities of natural gas which geological and engineering data demonstrates with reasonable certainty to be recoverable in the future from known natural oil and gas reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions.

Recoverable reserves: The amount of coal that can be recovered (mined) from the coal deposits at active producing mines as of the end of the year.

Recoverable reserves, estimated recoverable reserves (coal) : Reserve estimates (broad meaning) based on a demonstrated reserve base adjusted for assumed accessibility factors and recovery factors. The term is used by EIA to distinguish estimated recoverable reserves, which are derived without specific economic feasibility criteria by factoring (downward) from a demonstrated reserve base for one or more study areas or regions, from recoverable reserves at active mines, which are aggregated (upward) from reserve estimates reported by currently active, economically viable mines on Form EIA-7A

Recovery factor (coal): The percentage of total tons of coal estimated to be recoverable from a given area in relation to the total tonnage estimated to be in the demonstrated reserve base. The estimated recovery factors for the demonstrated reserve base generally are 50 percent for underground mining methods and 80 percent for surface mining methods. More precise recovery factors can be computed by determining the total coal in place and the total recoverable in any specific locale.

Recovery percentage (coal): The percentage of coal that can be recovered from the coal deposits at existing mines.

RECS: See Residential Energy Consumption Survey below.

Rectifier: A device for converting alternating current to direct current.

Recycled feeds: Feeds that are continuously fed back for additional processing.

Recycling: The process of converting materials that are no longer useful as designed or intended into a new product.

Redox potential: A measurement of the state of oxidation of a system.

Redrill footage: Occasionally, a hole is lost or junked and a second hole may be drilled from the surface in close proximity to the first. Footage drilled for the second hole is defined as "redrill footage." Under these circumstances, the first hole is reported as a dry hole (explanatory or developmental) and the total footage is reported as dry hole footage. The second hole is reported as an oil well, gas well, or dry hole according to the result. The redrill footage is included in the appropriate classification of total footage, but is not reported as a separate classification.

Reduced use-off hours: A conservation feature consisting of manually or automatically reducing the amount of heating or cooling produced during the hours a building is not in full use.

Reference month: The calendar month and year to which the reported cost, price, and volume information relates.

Reference year: The calendar year to which the reported sales volume information relates.

Refined petroleum products: Refined petroleum products include but are not limited to gasolines, kerosene, distillates (including No. 2 fuel oil), liquefied petroleum gas, asphalt, lubricating oils, diesel fuels, and residual fuels.

Refiner: A firm or the part of a firm that refines products or blends and substantially changes products, or refines liquid hydrocarbons from oil and gas field gases, or recovers liquefied petroleum gases incident to petroleum refining and sells those products to resellers, retailers, reseller/retailers or ultimate consumers. "Refiner" includes any owner of products that contracts to have those products refined and then sells the refined products to resellers, retailers, or ultimate consumers.

Refiner acquisition cost of crude oil: The cost of crude oil, including transportation and other fees paid by the refiner. The composite cost is the weighted average of domestic and imported crude oil costs. Note: The refiner acquisition cost does not include the cost of crude oil purchased for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

Refinery: An installation that manufactures finished petroleum products from crude oil, unfinished oils, natural gas liquids, other hydrocarbons, and oxygenates.

Refinery capacity utilization: Ratio of the total amount of crude oil, unfinished oils, and natural gas plant liquids run through crude oil distillation units to the operable capacity of these units.

Refinery fuel: Crude oil and petroleum products consumed at the refinery for all purposes.

Refinery gas: Noncondensate gas collected in petroleum refineries.

Refinery input, crude oil: Total crude oil (domestic plus foreign) input to crude oil distillation units and other refinery processing units (cokers, etc.).

Refinery input, total: The raw materials and intermediate materials processed at refineries to produce finished petroleum products. They include crude oil, products of natural gas processing plants, unfinished oils, other hydrocarbons and oxygenates, motor gasoline and aviation gasoline blending components and finished petroleum products.

Refinery losses and gains: Processing gain and loss that takes place during the refining process itself. Excludes losses that do not take place during the refining process, e.g., spills, fire losses, and contamination during blending, transportation, or storage.

Refinery output: The total amount of petroleum products produced at a refinery. Includes petroleum consumed by the refinery.

Refinery production: Petroleum products produced at a refinery or blending plant. Published production of these products equals refinery production minus refinery input. Negative production will occur when the amount of a product produced during the month is less than the amount that is reprocessed (input) or reclassified to become another product during the same month. Refinery production of unfinished oils and motor and aviation gasoline blending components appear on a net basis under refinery input.

Refinery utilization rate: Represents the use of the atmospheric crude oil distillation units. The rate is calculated by dividing the gross input to these units by the operable refining capacity of the units.

Refinery yield: Refinery yield (expressed as a percentage) represents the percent of finished product produced from input of crude oil and net input of unfinished oils. It is calculated by dividing the sum of crude oil and net unfinished input into the individual net production of finished products. Before calculating the yield for finished motor gasoline, the input of natural gas liquids, other hydrocarbons and oxygenates, and net input of motor gasoline blending components must be subtracted from the net production of finished aviation gasoline.

Reflective film: Transparent covering for glass that helps keep out heat from the sun.

Reflectivity: The ratio of the energy carried by a wave after reflection from a surface to its energy before reflection.

Reforestation: Replanting of forests on lands that have recently been harvested or otherwise cleared of trees.

Reformulated gasoline: Finished gasoline formulated for use in motor vehicles, the composition and properties of which meet the requirements of the reformulated gasoline regulations promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under Section 211(k) of the Clean Air Act.  It includes gasoline produced to meet or exceed emissions performance and benzene content standards of federal-program reformulated gasoline even though the gasoline may not meet all of the composition requirements (e.g. oxygen content) of federal-program reformulated gasoline.  Note: This category includes Oxygenated Fuels Program Reformulated Gasoline (OPRG). Reformulated gasoline excludes Reformulated Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending (RBOB) and Gasoline Treated as Blendstock (GTAB).

Refrigeration unit: Lowers the temperature through a mechanical process. In a typical refrigeration unit, electricity powers a motor that runs a pump to compress the refrigerant to maintain proper pressure. (A "refrigerant" is a substance that changes between liquid and gaseous states under desirable temperature and pressure conditions.) Heat from the compressed liquid is removed and discharged from the unit and the refrigerant then evaporates when pressure is reduced. The refrigerant picks up heat as it evaporates and it returns to the compressor to repeat the cycle. A few refrigeration units use gas (either natural gas or LPG) in an absorption process that does not use a compressor. The gas is burned to heat a chemical solution in which the refrigerant has been absorbed. Heating drives off the refrigerant which is later condensed. The condensed refrigerant evaporates by a release of pressure, and it picks up heat as it evaporates. The evaporated refrigerant is then absorbed back into the chemical solution, the heat is removed from the solution and discharged as waste heat, and the process repeats itself. By definition, refrigerators, freezers, and air-conditioning equipment all contain refrigeration units.

Refunding: Retirement of one security issue with proceeds received from selling another. Refunding provides for retiring maturing debt by taking advantage of favorable money market conditions.

Refuse bank: A repository for waste material generated by the coal cleaning process.

Refuse-derived fuel (RDF): A fuel produced by shredding municipal solid waste (MSW). Noncombustible materials such as glass and metals are generally removed prior to making RDF. The residual material is sold as-is or compressed into pellets, bricks, or logs. RDF processing facilities are typically located near a source of MSW, while the RDF combustion facility can be located elsewhere.

Refuse mine: A surface mine where coal is recovered from previously mined coal. It may also be known as a silt bank, culm bank, refuse bank, slurry dam, or dredge operation.

Refuse recovery:  The recapture of coal from a refuse mine or the coal recaptured by that process.  The resulting product has been cleaned to reduce the concentration of noncombustible materials.

Regional reserves, regional reserve estimates (coal): Same as reserves; alternative wording is used by EIA to distinguish regional reserves, which are derived by factoring (downward) from a demonstrated reserve base for one or more study areas or regions, from reserves at active mines, which are aggregated (upward) from reserve estimates reported by individual mines on Form EIA-7A.

Regional Transmission Group: A utility industry concept that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) embraced for the certification of voluntary groups that would be responsible for transmission planning and use on a regional basis.

Regular grade gasoline: A grade of unleaded gasoline with a lower octane rating (approximately 82) than other grades. Octane boosters are added to gasoline to control engine pre-ignition or "knocking" by slowing combustion rates.

Regulated entity:  For the purpose of EIA's data collection efforts, entities that either provide electricity within a designated franchised service area and/or file forms listed in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 18, part 141 are considered regulated entities.  This includes investor-owned electric utilities that are subject to rate regulation, municipal utilities, federal and state power authorities, and rural electric cooperatives.  Facilities that qualify as cogenerators or small power producers under the Public Utility Regulatory Power Act (PURPA) are not considered regulated entities.

Regulated streamflow: The rate of flow past a given point during a specified period that is controlled by reservoir water release operation.

Regulation: The governmental function of controlling or directing economic entities through the process of rulemaking and adjudication.

Regulation, procedures, and practices: A utility commission carries out its regulatory functions through rulemaking and adjudication. Under rulemaking, the utility commission may propose a general rule of regulation change. By law, it must issue a notice of the proposed rule and a request for comments is also made; the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission publishes this in the Federal Register. The final decision must be published. A utility commission may also work on a case-by-case basis from submissions from regulated companies or others. Objections to a proposal may come from the commission or intervenors, in which case the proposal must be presented to a hearing presided over by an administrative law judge. The judge's decision may be adopted, modified, or reversed by the utility commissioners, in which case those involved can petition for a rehearing and may appeal a decision through the courts system to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Reheating coils: A part of some air-conditioning systems. Electric coils in air ducts used primarily to raise the temperature of circulated air after it was over-cooled to remove moisture. Some buildings have reheating coils as their sole heating source.

Reinjected: The forcing of gas under pressure into an oil reservoir in an attempt to increase recovery.

Reinserted fuel: Irradiated fuel that is discharged in one cycle and inserted in the same reactor during a subsequent refueling. In a few cases, fuel discharged from one reactor has been used to fuel a different reactor.

Reinsertion: The process of returning nuclear fuel that has been irradiated and then removed from a reactor back into a reactor for further irradiation. Reinserted assemblies are assemblies that have been irradiated in a cycle, were not in the core in the prior cycle (cycle N), and which are in the core in the current cycle (cycle N+1).

Reliability (electric system): A measure of the ability of the system to continue operation while some lines or generators are out of service. Reliability deals with the performance of the system under stress.

Relocation of tailings: Relocation of tailings is sometimes necessary if the pile poses a threat to inhabitants or the environment, for example, through being situated too close to populated areas, on top of aquifers or other sources of water, or in unstable areas such as flood plains or faults near earthquake zones.

Remaining (resources/reserves) (coal) : The amount of coal in the ground after some mining, excluding coal in the ground spoiled or left in place for which later recovery is not feasible.

Renewable energy resources: Energy resources that are naturally replenishing but flow-limited. They are virtually inexhaustible in duration but limited in the amount of energy that is available per unit of time. Renewable energy resources include: biomass, hydro, geothermal, solar, wind, ocean thermal, wave action, and tidal action.

Replacement energy source for primary heating: For the CBECS (an EIA consumption survey), the heating energy source to which the building could switch within one week without major modifications to the main heating equipment, without substantially reducing the area heated, and without substantially reducing the temperature maintained in the heated area.

Replacement vehicle: A vehicle which is acquired in order to take the place of a vehicle which is being retired from service. These acquisitions do not increase the size of the company fleet.

Report State: The State, including adjacent offshore continental shelf areas in the Federal domain, in which a company operated natural gas gathering, transportation, storage, and/or distribution facilities or a synthetic natural gas plant covered by the individual report.

Report week: A calendar week beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday and ending at midnight on Saturday.

Report year (calendar): The 12-month period, January 1 through December 31.

Report year (fiscal): A 12-month period for which an organization plans the use of its funds. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends.

Reporting: The average number of Btu per cubic foot of gas at 60 degrees Fahrenheit and 14.73 psia delivered directly to consumers. Where billing is on a thermal basis, the heat content values used for billing purposes are to be used to determine the annual average heat content.

Repowering: Refurbishment of a plant by replacement of the combustion technology with a new combustion technology, usually resulting in better performance and greater capacity.

Repressuring: The injection of gas into oil or gas formations to effect greater ultimate recovery.

Reprocessing: Synonymous with chemical separations.

Requirements power: The firm service needs required by designated load plus losses from the points of supply.

Reregulation: The design and implementation of regulatory practices to be applied to the remaining regulated entities after restructuring of the vertically-integrated electric utility. The remaining regulated entities would be those that continue to exhibit characteristics of a natural monopoly, where imperfections in the market prevent the realization of more competitive results, and where, in light of other policy considerations, competitive results are unsatisfactory in one or more respects. Regulation could employ the same or different regulatory practices as those used before restructuring.

Resale (wholesale) sales: Resale or wholesale sales are electricity sold (except under exchange agreements) to other electric utilities or to public authorities for resale distribution. (This includes sales to requirements and nonrequirements consumers.)

Research and development (R&D): Basic and applied research in the sciences and engineering and the design and development of prototypes and processes, excluding quality control, routine product testing, market research, sales promotion, sales service, research in the social sciences or psychology, and other non-technological activities or technical services.

Reseller: A firm (other than a refiner) that is engaged in a trade or business that buys refined petroleum products and then sells them to a purchaser who is not the ultimate consumer of those refined products.

Reserve: That portion of the demonstrated reserve base that is estimated to be recoverable at the time of determination. The reserve is derived by applying a recovery factor to that component of the identified coal resource designated as the demonstrated reserve base.

Reserve additions: The estimated original, recoverable, salable, and new proved reserves credited to new fields, new reservoirs, new gas purchase contracts, amendments to old gas purchase contracts, or purchase of gas reserves in-place that occurred during the year and had not been previously reported. Reserve additions refer to domestic in-the-ground natural gas reserve additions and do not refer to interstate pipeline purchase agreements; contracts with foreign suppliers; coal gas, SNG, or LNG purchase arrangements.

Reserve cost categories of $15, $30, $50, and $100 per pound U₃O₈: Classification of uranium reserves estimated by using break-even cutoff grades that are calculated based on forward-operating costs of less than $15, $30, $50, and $100 per pound U₃O₈.

Reserve generating capacity: Amount of generating capacity available to meet peak or abnormally high demands for power and to generate power during scheduled or unscheduled outages.

Reserve margin (operating): The amount of unused available capability of an electric power system (at peak load for a utility system) as a percentage of total capability.

Reserve revisions: Changes to prior year-end proved reserves estimates, either positive or negative, resulting from new information other than an increase in proved acreage (extension). Revisions include increases of proved reserves associated with the installation of improved recovery techniques or equipment. They also include correction of prior year arithmetical or clerical errors and adjustments to prior year-end production volumes to the extent that these alter reserves estimates.

Reserves, coal: Quantities of unextracted coal that comprise the demonstrated base for future production, including both proved and probable reserves. Also see Proved energy reserves; Probable energy reserves; Energy reserves; Proved (measured) reserves, coal; and Probable(indicated) reserves, coal.

Reserves, energy: See Proved energy reserves.

Reserves, net: Includes all proved reserves associated with the company's net working interests.

Reserves changes: Positive and negative revisions, extensions, new reservoir discoveries in old fields, and new field discoveries that occurred during the report year.

Reservoir: A porous and permeable underground formation containing an individual and separate natural accumulation of producible hydrocarbons (crude oil and/or natural gas) which is confined by impermeable rock or water barriers and is characterized by a single natural pressure system.

Reservoir capacity: The present total developed capacity (base and working) of the storage reservoir, excluding contemplated future development.

Reservoir repressuring: The injection of a pressurized fluid (such as air, gas, or water) into oil and gas reservoir formations to effect greater ultimate recovery.

Residential building: A structure used primarily as a dwelling for one or more households.

Residential/commercial (consumer category): Housing units, wholesale or retail businesses (except coal wholesale dealers); health institutions (hospitals, social and educational institutions (schools and universities); and Federal, state, and local governments (military installations, prisons, office buildings, etc.). Excludes shipments to Federal power projects, such as TVA, and rural electrification cooperatives, power districts, and state power projects.

Residential consumers: Consumers using gas for heating, air conditioning, cooking, water heating, and other residential uses in single and multi-family dwellings and apartments and mobile homes.

Residential energy consumption survey (RECS): A national multistage probability sample survey conducted by the Energy End Use Division of the Energy Information Administration. The RECS provides baseline information on how households in the United States use energy. The Residential Transportation Energy Consumption Survey (RTECS) sample is a subset of the RECS. Household demographic characteristics reported in the RTECS publication are collected during the RECS personal interview.

Residential heating oil price: The price charged for home delivery of No. 2 heating oil, exclusive of any discounts such as those for prompt cash payment. Prices do not include taxes paid by the consumer.

Residential propane price: The "bulk keep full" price for home delivery of consumer-grade propane intended for use in space heating, cooking, or hot water heaters in residences.

Residential sector: An energy-consuming sector that consists of living quarters for private households. Common uses of energy associated with this sector include space heating, water heating, air conditioning, lighting, refrigeration, cooking, and running a variety of other appliances. The residential sector excludes institutional living quarters. Note: Various EIA programs differ in sectoral coverage. Click Here for further information on the variations of the residential sector used by EIA systems.

Residential type central air conditioner: There are four basic parts to a residential central air-conditioning system: (1) a condensing unit, (2) a cooling coil, (3) ductwork, and (4) a control mechanism such as a thermostat. There are two basic configurations of residential central systems: (1) a "split system" where the condensing unit is located outside and the other components are inside, and (2) a packaged-terminal air-encased in one unit and is usually found in a "utility closet."

Residential vehicles: Motorized vehicles used by U.S. households for personal transportation. Excluded are motorcycles, mopeds, large trucks, and buses. Included are automobiles, station wagons, passenger vans, cargo vans, motor homes, pickup trucks, and jeeps or similar vehicles. In order to be included (in the EIA survey), vehicles must be (1) owned by members of the household, or (2) company cars not owned by household members but regularly available to household members for their personal use and ordinarily kept at home, or (3) rented or leased for 1 month or more.

Residual fuel oil: A general classification for the heavier oils, known as No. 5 and No. 6 fuel oils, that remain after the distillate fuel oils and lighter hydrocarbons are distilled away in refinery operations. It conforms to ASTM Specifications D 396 and D 975 and Federal Specification VV-F-815C. No. 5, a residual fuel oil of medium viscosity, is also known as Navy Special and is defined in Military Specification MIL-F-859E, including Amendment 2 (NATO Symbol F-770). It is used in steam-powered vessels in government service and inshore powerplants. No. 6 fuel oil includes Bunker C fuel oil and is used for the production of electric power, space heating, vessel bunkering, and various industrial purposes.

Residue gas: Natural gas from which natural gas processing plant liquid products and, in some cases, nonhydrocarbon components have been extracted.

Residuum: Residue from crude oil after distilling off all but the heaviest components, with a boiling range greater than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Resources (Coal) : Naturally occurring concentrations or deposits of coal in the Earth's crust, in such forms and amounts that economic extraction is currently or potentially feasible.

Respondent: A company or individual who completes and returns a report or survey form.

Restoration time: The time when the major portion of the interrupted load has been restored and the emergency is considered to be ended. However, some of the loads interrupted may not have been restored due to local problems.

Restricted-universe census: This is the complete enumeration of data from a specifically defined subset of entities including, for example, those that exceed a given level of sales or generator nameplate capacity.

Restructuring: The process of replacing a monopoly system of electric utilities with competing sellers, allowing individual retail customers to choose their electricity supplier but still receive delivery over the power lines of the local utility. It includes the reconfiguration of the vertically-integrated electric utility.

Retail motor gasoline prices: Motor gasoline prices calculated each month by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in conjunction with the construction of the Consumer Price Index.

Retail wheeling: The process of moving electric power from a point of generation across third-party-owned transmission and distribution systems to a retail customer.

Retailer: A firm (other than a refiner, reseller, or reseller/retailer) that carries on the trade or business of purchasing refined petroleum products and reselling them to ultimate consumers without substantially changing their form.

Retained earnings: The balance, either debit or credit, of appropriated or unappropriated retained earnings of the utility department arising from earnings.

Retire from service: A vehicle is retired from service if that vehicle is placed out of service and there are no future plans to return that vehicle to service.

Retired hydropower plant sites: The site of a plant that formerly produced electrical or mechanical power but is now out of service. Includes plants that have been abandoned, damaged by flood or fire, inundated by new reservoirs, or dismantled.

Return on common equity: The net income less preferred stock dividends, divided by the average common stock equity.

Return on common stock equity: An equity's earnings available for common stockholders calculated as a percentage of its common equity capital.

Revenue - (electricity): The total amount of money received by an entity from sales of its products and/or services; gains from the sales or exchanges of assets, interest, and dividends earned on investments; and other increases in the owner's equity, except those arising from capital adjustments.

Revenue requirement: The total revenue that the utility is authorized an opportunity to recover, which includes operating expenses and a reasonable return on rate base.

Reversible turbine: A hydraulic turbine, normally installed in a pumped-storage plant, which can be used alternatively as a pump or as an engine, turbine, water wheel, or other apparatus that drives an electrical generator.

Revisions and additions (gross change in reserves): The difference (plus or minus) between the year-end reserves plus production for a given year and the year-end reserves for the previous year.

Ribbon silicon: Crystalline silicon that is used in photovoltaic cells. Ribbon silicon is fabricated by a variety of solidification (crystallization) methods that withdraw thin silicon sheets from pools of relatively pure molten silicon.

Right-of-way: The land and legal right to use and service the land along which a transmission line is located. Transmission line right-of-way is usually acquired in widths that vary with the kilovolt (kV) size of the line.

Rip rap: Cobblestone or coarsely broken rock used for protection against erosion of embankment or gully.

River (method of transportation to consumers - coal): Shipments of coal moved to consumers via river by barge. Shipments to Great Lakes coal loading docks or Tidewater pier or coastal points are not included.

Road oil: Any heavy petroleum oil, including residual asphaltic oil used as a dust pallative and surface treatment on roads and highways. It is generally produced in six grades, from 0, the most liquid, to 5, the most viscous.

Rodlet or GAD basket: An open garbage and debris (GAD) basket that may have contain pieces of fuel rods, disassembled fuel rods, and other fuel and nonfuel components.

Roll front: A type of uranium deposition localized as a roll or interface separating an oxidized interior from a reduced exterior. The reduced side of this interface is significantly enriched in uranium.

Roof (coal): The rock immediately above a coal seam. The roof is commonly a shale, often carbonaceous and softer than rocks higher up in the roof strata.

Roof insulation: Insulating materials placed underneath the roof or on the roof (building).

Roof or ceiling insulation: A building shell conservation feature consisting of insulation placed in the roof (below the waterproofing layer) or in the ceiling of the top floor in the building.

Roof or ceiling insulation, insulation in exterior walls: Any material that when placed between the interior surface of the building and the exterior surface of the building, reduces the rate of heat loss to the environment or heat gain from the environment. Roof or ceiling insulation refers to insulation placed in the roof or ceiling of the top occupied floor in the building. Wall insulation refers to insulation placed between the exterior and interior walls of the building.

Roof pond: A solar energy collection device consisting of containers of water located on a roof that absorb solar energy during the day so that the heat can be used at night or that cools a building by evaporation at night.

Room air conditioner: Air-conditioning units that typically fit into the window or wall and are designed to cool only one room.

Room heater burning gas, oil, and kerosene: Any of the following heating equipment: circulating heaters, convectors, radiant gas heaters, space heaters, or other nonportable room heaters that may or may not be connected to a flue, vent, or chimney.

Room-and-pillar mining: The most common method of underground mining in which the mine roof is supported mainly by coal pillars left at regular intervals. Rooms are places where the coal is mined; pillars are areas of coal left between the rooms. Room-and-pillar mining is done either by conventional or continuous mining.

Rotary rig: A machine used for drilling wells that employs a rotating tube attached to a bit for boring holes through rock.

Round test mesh: A sieving screen with round holes, the dimensions of which are of specific sizes to allow certain sizes of coal to pass through while retaining other sizes.

Roundwood: Wood cut specifically for use as a fuel.

Royalty: A contractual arrangement providing a mineral interest that gives the owner a right to a fractional share of production or proceeds therefrom, that does not contain rights and obligations of operating a mineral property, and that is normally free and clear of exploration, developmental and operating costs, except production taxes.

Royalty cost: A share of the profit or product reserved by the grantor of a mining lease, such as a royalty paid to a lessee.

Royalty interest: An interest in a mineral property provided through a royalty contract.

Royalty interest (including overriding royalty): These interests entitle their owner(s) to a share of the mineral production from a property or to a share of the proceeds therefrom. They do not contain the rights and obligations of operating the property and normally do not bear any of the costs of exploration, development, and operation of the property.

Rulemaking (regulations): The authority delegated to administrative agencies by Congress or State legislative bodies to make rules that have the force of law. Frequently, statutory laws that express broad terms of a policy are implemented more specifically by administrative rules, regulations, and practices.

Run off: That portion of the precipitation that flows over the land surface and ultimately reaches streams to complete the water cycle. Melting snow is an important source of this water as well as all amounts of surface water that move to streams or rivers through any given area of a drainage basin.

Run-of-mine coal: Coal as it comes from the mine prior to screening or any other treatment.

Run-of-river hydroelectric plant: A low-head plant using the flow of a stream as it occurs and having little or no reservoir capacity for storage.

Running and quick-start capability: The net capability of generating units that carry load or have quick-start capability. In general, quick-start capability refers to generating units that can be available for load within a 30-minute period.

Rural Electrification Administration (REA): A lending agency of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the REA makes self-liquidating loans to qualified borrowers to finance electric and telephone service to rural areas. The REA finances the construction and operation of generating plants, electric transmission and distribution lines, or systems for the furnishing of initial and continued adequate electric services to persons in rural areas not receiving central station service.