Electrical grid

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(Redirected from Electrical power grid)
For other uses, see Grid (disambiguation).

General layout of electricity networks. Voltages and depictions of electrical lines are typical for Germany and other European systems.
An electrical grid is an interconnected network for delivering electricity from suppliers to consumers. It consists of generating stations that produce electrical power, high-voltage transmission lines that carry power from distant sources to demand centers, and distribution lines that connect individual customers.
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Power stations may be located near a fuel source, at a dam site, or to take advantage of renewable energy sources, and are often located away from heavily populated areas. They are usually quite large to take advantage of theeconomies of scale. The electric power which is generated is stepped up to a higher voltage-at which it connects to the transmission network. The transmission network will move the power long distances, sometimes across international boundaries, until it reaches its wholesale customer (usually the company that owns the local distribution network).

On arrival at a substation, the power will be stepped down from a transmission level voltage to a distribution level voltage. As it exits the substation, it enters the distribution wiring. Finally, upon arrival at the service location, the power is stepped down again from the distribution voltage to the required service voltage(s).

Contents
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1 Term 2 History o 2.1 Deregulation 3 Features o 3.1 Structure of distribution grids o 3.2 Geography of transmission networks o 3.3 Redundancy and defining "grid" 4 Aging Infrastructure 5 Modern trends 6 Future trends 7 Emerging smart grid 8 References 9 External links

Term [edit]
The term grid usually refers to a network, and should not be taken to imply a particular physical layout or breadth. Grid may also be used to refer to an entire continent's electrical network, a regional transmission network or may be used to describe a subnetwork such as a local utility's transmission grid or distribution grid.

History [edit]
The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (September 2011)
Since its inception in the Industrial Age, the electrical grid has evolved from an insular system that serviced a particular geographic area to a wider, expansive network that incorporated multiple areas. At one point, all energy was produced near the device or service requiring that energy. In the early 19th century, electricity was

a novel invention that competed with steam, hydraulics, direct heatingand cooling, light, and most notably gas. During this period, gas production and delivery had become the first centralized element in the modern energy industry. It was first produced on customers premises but later evolved into large gasifiers that enjoyed economies of scale. Virtually every city in the U.S. and Europe had town gas piped through their municipalities as it was a dominant form of household energy use. By the mid-19th century, electric arc lighting soon became advantageous compared to volatile gas lamps since gas lamps produced poor light, tremendous wasted heat which made rooms hot and smoky, and noxious elements in the form ofhydrogen and carbon monoxide. Modeling after the gas lighting industry, Thomas Edison invented the first electric utility system which supplied energy through virtual mains to light filtration as opposed to gas burners. With this, electric utilities also took advantage of economies of scale and moved to centralized power generation, distribution, and system management.[2] During the 20th century, institutional arrangement of electric utilities changed. At the beginning, electric utilities were isolated systems without connection to other utilities and serviced a specific service territory. In the 1920s, utilities joined together establishing a wider utility grid as joint-operations saw the benefits of sharing peak load coverage and backup power. Also, electric utilities were easily financed by Wall Street private investors who backed many of their ventures. In 1934, with the passage of the Public Utility Holding Company Act (USA), electric utilities were recognized as public goods of importance along with gas, water, and telephone companies and thereby were given outlined restrictions and regulatory oversight of their operations. This ushered in the Golden Age of Regulationfor more than 60 years. However, with the successful deregulation of airlines and telecommunication industries in late 1970s, theEnergy Policy Act (EPAct) of 1992 advocated deregulation of electric utilities by creating wholesale electric markets. It required transmission line owners to allow electric generation companies open access to their network.[2][3]

Deregulation [edit]
With deregulation, a more complex environment occurred opposed to the traditional verticallyintegrated monopoly that oversees the entire grids operations. Newer participants entered the market including Independent Power Providers (IPPs) who decided and constructed the new facility; Transmission Companies (TRANSCOs) who constructed and owned the transmission equipment; retailers who signed up end-use customers, procured their electric service, and billed them; integrated energy companies (combined IPPs and retailers); and Independent System Operation (ISO) who managed the grid being indifferent to market outcomes. Also, day-to-day to long term operations altered. Infrastructure additions which were longterm planning now became an investment analysiswith IPPs that decided construction of a new power plant under economic considerations (taxes, labor and material costs) and ability to obtain financing. Load and supply management that fell under mid-term planning became risk management as private utilities had to manage a portfolio of end customers and assets with the companys risk preference. Day-ahead scheduling

and real time grid management in the short-term planning which involves forecasting demand and dispatch schedule became asset management as power plants and grid equipment were assets to be scheduled and dispatched. Here, the ISO sets dispatch schedule at the market clearing price where the supply bids of generating units equilibriated with demand bids of retailers.[3] Many engineers argue the unfortunate disadvantages that stem from deregulation. Where under regulated monopolies, long distance energy lines were used for emergencies as backup in case of generation outages, now, particularly in North America, the majority of domestic generation is sold over ever-increasing distances on the wholesale market before delivery to customers. Consequently, the power grid witnesses fluctuating power flows that impact system stability and reliability.[3][4] To reduce system failure, the power flow of a transmission line must operate below the transmission lines capacity. Yet now, companies are continually operating near capacity. Additionally, as utilities exchange power to other utilities, power flows along all paths of connection. Therefore, any change in one point of generation and transmission affects the load on all other points. Oftentimes, this is unanticipated and uncontrolled. Usually, a longer lines capacity is less than a shorter lines capacity. If not, power-supply instability occurs resulting in transmission lines that break or sag. Such phase and voltage fluctuations cause system interruptions as witnessed in the Northeast Blackout of 1965 (which involved a circuit breaker to trip) and 2003 (which involved a sagging line on a tree that rippled in magnitude). Furthermore, IPPs add new generating units at random locations determined by economics that extend the distance to main consuming areas adversely affecting power supply. Also, utilities, because of competitive information needs, do not publicize needed data to predict and react to system stress such as with energy flows and blackout statistics. Overall, the economics of the electrical grid do not align sufficiently with the physics of the grid. Experts advocate for fundamental changes to avoid serious consequences in the near future.[3]

Features [edit]
Structure of distribution grids [edit]
The following text needs to be harmonized with text in Electricity distribution.

The wide area synchronous grids of Europe. Most are members of the European Transmission System Operators association.

The Continental U.S. power transmission grid consists of about 300,000 km of lines operated by approximately 500 companies.

High-voltage direct currentinterconnections in western Europe - red are existing links, green are under construction, and blue are proposed.
The structure, or "topology" of a grid can vary considerably. The physical layout is often forced by what land is available and its geology. The logical topology can vary depending on the constraints of budget, requirements for system reliability, and the load and generation characteristics. The cheapest and simplest topology for a distribution or transmission grid is a radial structure. This is atree shape where power from a large supply radiates out into progressively lower voltage lines until the destination homes and businesses are reached. Most transmission grids require the reliability that more complex mesh networks provide. If one were to imagine running redundant lines between limbs/branches of a tree that could be turned in case any particular limb of the tree were severed, then this image approximates how a mesh system operates. The expense of mesh topologies restrict their application to transmission and medium voltage distribution grids. Redundancy allows line failures to occur and power is simply rerouted while workmen repair the damaged and deactivated line. Other topologies used are looped systems found in Europe and tied ring networks.

The examples and perspective in this article may not represent aworldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (February
2010)

In cities and towns of North America, the grid tends to follow the classic radially fed design. A substation receives its power from the transmission network, the power is stepped down with a transformer and sent to a bus from which feeders fan out in all directions across the countryside. These feeders carry three-phase power, and tend to follow the major streets near the substation. As the distance from the substation grows, the fanout continues as smaller laterals spread out to cover areas missed by the feeders. This tree-like structure grows outward from the substation, but for reliability reasons, usually contains at least one unused backup connection to a nearby substation. This connection can be enabled in case of an emergency, so that a portion of a substation's service territory can be alternatively fed by another substation.

Geography of transmission networks [edit]

The following text needs to be harmonized with text in Electric power transmission.
Transmission networks are more complex with redundant pathways. For example, see the map of the United States' (right) high-voltage transmission network. A wide area synchronous grid or "interconnection" is a group of distribution areas all operating withalternating current (AC) frequencies synchronized (so that peaks occur at the same time). This allows transmission of AC power throughout the area, connecting a large number of electricity generators and consumers and potentially enabling more efficient electricity markets and redundant generation. Interconnection maps are shown of North America (right) and Europe (below left). In a synchronous grid all the generators run not only at the same speed but also at the same phase, each generator maintained by a local governor that regulates the driving torque by controlling the steam supply to the turbine driving it. Generation and consumption must be balanced across the entire grid, because energy is consumed almost instantaneously as it is produced. Energy is stored in the immediate short term by the rotational kinetic energy of the generators. A large failure in one part of the grid - unless quickly compensated for - can cause current to re-route itself to flow from the remaining generators to consumers over transmission lines of insufficient capacity, causing further failures. One downside to a widely connected grid is thus the possibility of cascading failure and widespread power outage. A central authority is usually designated to facilitate communication and develop protocols to maintain a stable grid. For example, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation gained binding powers in the United States in 2006, and has advisory powers in the applicable parts of Canada and Mexico. The U.S. government has also designated National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors, where it believes transmission bottlenecks have developed. Some areas, for example rural communities in Alaska, do not operate on a large grid, relying instead on local diesel generators.[5]

High-voltage direct current lines or variable frequency transformers can be used to connect two alternating current interconnection networks which are not synchronized with each other. This provides the benefit of interconnection without the need to synchronize an even wider area. For example, compare the wide area synchronous grid map of Europe (above left) with the map of HVDC lines (below right).

Redundancy and defining "grid" [edit]

A town is only said to have achieved grid connection when it is connected to several redundant sources, generally involving long-distance transmission. This redundancy is limited. Existing national or regional grids simply provide the interconnection of facilities to utilize whatever redundancy is available. The exact stage of development at which the supply structure becomes a grid is arbitrary. Similarly, the termnational grid is something of an anachronism in many parts of the world, as transmission cables now frequently cross national boundaries. The terms distribution grid for local connections and transmission grid for long-distance transmissions are therefore preferred, but national grid is often still used for the overall structure.