This redundancy helps prevent transmission line or power plant failures from causing interruptions in service to retail customers.Ĭlick to enlarge Balancing authorities manage grid operations The network structure of the interconnections helps maintain the reliability of the grid by providing multiple routes for power to flow and allowing generators to supply electricity to many load centers. The Eastern and Western Interconnections in the United States are also linked with the Canadian power grid.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) covers most of Texas.

The Western Interconnection encompasses the area from the Rockies to the west.The Eastern Interconnection encompasses the area east of the Rocky Mountains and a portion of the Texas panhandle.power system in the Lower 48 states is made up of three main interconnections, which operate largely independently from each other with limited transfers of electricity between them. Local electricity grids are interconnected to form larger networks for reliability and commercial purposes. The stability of the electricity grid requires the electricity supply to constantly meet electricity demand, which in turn requires coordination of numerous entities that operate different components of the grid. electrical systems are now interconnected Over time, three large, interconnected systems evolved in the United States. Interconnection also reduced the amount of extra generating capacity that each utility had to hold to ensure reliable service during times of peak demand. These connections allowed utilities to share the economic benefits of building large and often jointly-owned electric generating units to serve their combined electricity demand at the lowest possible cost. As the demand for electricity grew, especially after World War II, utilities began to connect their transmission systems. Evolution of the electric power gridĪt the beginning of the 20th century, more than 4,000 individual electric utilities operated in isolation from each other. Transformers at substations increase (step up) or reduce (step down) voltages to adjust to the different stages of the journey from the power plant on long-distance transmission lines to distribution lines that carry electricity to homes and businesses. Lower voltage electricity is safer for use in homes and businesses. Higher voltage electricity is more efficient and less expensive for long-distance electricity transmission. High-voltage transmission lines, such as those that hang between tall metal towers, carry electricity over long distances to meet customer needs. Power plants generate electricity that is delivered to customers through transmission and distribution power lines. Local electric utilities operate the distribution system that connects consumers with the grid regardless of the source of the electricity. A few federally owned power authorities-including the Bonneville Power Administration and the Tennessee Valley Authority, among others-also generate, buy, sell, and distribute power. The company selling you power may be a not-for-profit municipal electric utility an electric cooperative owned by its members a private, for-profit electric utility owned by stockholders (often called an investor-owned utility) or in some states, you may purchase electricity through a power marketer. The retail structure of the electricity industry varies from region to region. Other utilities purchase electricity directly from other utilities, power marketers, and independent power producers or from a wholesale market organized by a regional transmission reliability organization. Some electric utilities generate all the electricity they sell using just the power plants they own.

The origin of the electricity that consumers purchase varies. Electricity comes from various sources and types of providers

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