peaker
n.— «The $60 million, 170 megawatt plant will be built near Mountain Home, Idaho, and used for what’s called a peaker plant. Peakers are relied on when peak summer demand is pushed by air conditioners and irrigation pumps and forces utilities to cover their demand with an idle unit instead of purchasing it from the more expensive wholesale spot market.» —“Idaho Power gets OK for ‘peaker’ plant” in Boise, Idaho Earthtimes.org Dec. 21, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A Louisiana listener shares a favorite passage from Laurie Lee’s memoir Cider with Rosie (Bookshop|Amazon), about his boyhood in post-World-War II England. An extract is here and contains the passage:“For the first time in my life I was out of the...
Listeners keep sending us wince-worthy puns about what various people might have in their gardens. For example, a baseball player’s backyard might be full of pitcher plants. People thinking about adopting a pet might consider orchids. (Say that one...