#ELECTRICAL GRID INSTALL#

These companies facilitate competition among electricity suppliers and provide access to transmission by scheduling and monitoring the use of transmission lines.

Transmission networks are sometimes managed by utilities, but some networks are managed by separate entities known as Independent System Operators (ISOs) or Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs). įERC regulates the electricity grid on a larger scale than PUCs and can resolve disputes among different market participants on the grid.

However, wholesale electricity transactions, which are made between regional grid operators, are regulated by a national agency called the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Like electricity generators, transmission lines must be approved by the state (PUCs or PSCs) before being built. There are three main transmission networks across the United States: the Western Interconnection, the Eastern Interconnection, and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Transmission lines are highly interconnected for redundancy and increased reliability of electricity supply, as this map of U.S. These high voltages are also significantly greater than what you need in your home, so once the electricity gets close to end users, another transformer converts it back to a lower voltage before it enters the distribution network. In order to make high-voltage electricity transport possible, the electricity must first be converted to higher voltages with a transformer. Power generators, however, produce electricity at low voltages. Transmission-level voltages are typically at or above 110,000 volts or 110 kV, with some transmission lines carrying voltages as high as 765 kV. (Most of the electric current flows close to the surface of the transmission line using thicker wires would have minimal impact on transmission losses.) The higher the voltage is on a transmission line, the less electricity it loses. As electricity flows through the wires, some of it dissipates as heat through a process called resistance. Transmission lines carry high voltages because it reduces the fraction of electricity that is lost in transit – about 6% on average in the United States. Overhead and underground transmission lines are made of aluminum alloy and reinforced with steel underground lines are typically insulated.

#ELECTRICAL GRID INSTALL#

Overhead cables are not insulated and are vulnerable to the weather, but can be less expensive to install than underground power cables. Transmission lines are either overhead power lines or underground power cables. Transmission lines are necessary to carry high-voltage electricity over long distances and connect electricity generators with electricity consumers. Generators can only be built with approval from the PUC or PSC, and these agencies set appropriate electricity rates within their state that the utilities must abide by. PUCs and PSCs are independent regulatory agencies appointed by the state legislature. Electricity demand, supply, reserve margins, and the mix of electricity generating technologies is constantly monitored and managed by grid operators to ensure that everything runs smoothly.Įlectricity generators are owned by electric companies, or utilities, which are in turn regulated by the state’s Public Utility Commission (PUC) or the Public Service Commission (PSC). More variable technologies, such as wind and solar photovoltaics, are generally used whenever they are available, in large part because their fuel – sunlight and wind – is free.Īt any given time, there is also always a “reserve margin,” a specified amount of backup electricity generating capacity that is available to compensate for potential forecasting errors or unexpected power plant shutdowns. Other plants, such as natural-gas fired plants, can be ramped up very quickly, and are often used to meet peaks in demand. For example, certain types of power plants, such as coal and nuclear power plants, have little short-term flexibility in adjusting their electricity output it takes a long time to ramp up or down their electricity output. These technologies are also physically different, and are used and manipulated differently on the power grid as a result. The location of these electricity generators – and their distance from end users – varies widely. Our nation’s electricity grid consists of four major components, each of which is detailed below.Ī variety of facilities generate electricity, including coal- and natural gas-burning power plants, hydroelectric dams, nuclear power plants, wind turbines, and solar panels.

Electrical grid