People use electricity every day — to charge phones, to power computers, to turn on lights, to cook dinner, and to brew that morning cup of coffee.
Electricity is the flow of electrical charge. Homes, buildings, and businesses get electricity through an interconnected system that generates, transmits, and distributes electricity – also called the grid.
GENERATION: Electricity is produced when certain forces (mechanical, magnetic, heat, or light) interact with energy resources — sunlight, wind, water, natural gas, coal, oil, nuclear. Various processes convert the potential energy from these resources to electric current, which is the movement of charged particles.
TRANSMISSION: Electric current then moves to an interconnected group of power lines and other equipment. These lines move electricity from its source, often transmitting high voltage electric current across great distances.
DISTRIBUTION: Devices called transformers then reduce the voltage of the electricity and move it to another set of lines and equipment that connect directly to the homes and businesses in your community.
Availability of Electricity
Some sources of power can be ramped up and down fairly easily, while others must run continuously. Continuously operating plants are also called “base load resources” and plants that are used only when energy use increases are called “intermediate” or “peaking” resources. Renewable sources generate electricity only when there is sufficient energy, such as from the wind or sun, and in the absence of associated storage capacity, are considered “intermittent” or “variable” resources.
Where Electricity Travels
The electric transmission network in the United States is organized into three interconnections – large grids that operate in sync and are carefully coordinated to prevent widespread blackouts. These interconnections effectively set boundaries for where electricity flows across the U.S.
