An electric utility is a company (often a public utility A public utility is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to state-wide government monopolies. Common arguments in favor of regulation include) that engages in the generation The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday. His basic method is still used today: electricity is generated by the movement of a loop of wire, or disc of copper between the poles of a magnet, transmission The modern distribution system begins as the primary circuit leaves the sub-station and ends as the secondary service enters the customer's meter socket. A variety of methods, materials, and equipment are used among the various utility companies, but the end result is similar. First, the energy leaves the sub-station in a primary circuit, usually, and distribution of electricity Electricity retailing is the final process in the delivery of electricity from generation to the consumer. The other main processes are transmission and distribution for sale generally in a regulated market A regulated market or controlled market, is the provision of goods or services that is regulated by a government appointed body. The regulation may cover the terms and conditions of supplying the goods and services and in particular the price allowed to be charged. It is common for a regulated market to control natural monopolies such as aspects. The electrical utility industry is a major provider of energy In physics, energy is a scalar physical quantity that describes the amount of work that can be performed by a force, an attribute of objects and systems that is subject to a conservation law. Different forms of energy include kinetic, potential, thermal, gravitational, sound, light, elastic, and electromagnetic energy. The forms of energy are in most countries. It is indispensable to factories, commercial establishments, homes, and even most recreational facilities. Lack of electricity causes not only inconvenience, but also economic loss due to reduced industrial production.
Electric utilities include investor owned An investor-owned utility or IOU is a business organization, providing a product or service regarded as a utility , and managed as private enterprise rather than a function of government or a consumer cooperative. Such businesses can range from a family whose residential property includes a well whose flow in excess of the family's own needs, publicly owned Public ownership refers to government ownership of any asset, industry, or corporation at any level, national, regional or local (municipal); or, it may refer to common (full-community) non-state ownership. The process of bringing an asset into public ownership is called nationalization or municipalization. In primarily market-based economies,, cooperatives A cooperative is defined by the International Co-operative Alliance's Statement on the Co-operative Identity as an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise. It is a business organization owned and, and nationalized Nationalization, also spelled nationalisation, is the act of taking an industry or assets into the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being state operated or owned by the state. The opposite of entities. They may be engaged in all or only some aspects of the industry. Electricity markets In economic terms, electricity is a commodity capable of being bought and sold. An electricity market is a system for effecting the purchase and sale of electricity, using supply and demand to set the price. Wholesale transactions in electricity are typically cleared and settled by the grid operator or a special-purpose independent entity charged are also considered electric utilities--these entities buy and sell electricity, acting as brokers, but usually do not own or operate generation, transmission, or distribution facilities. Utilities are regulated by local and national authorities.
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Organization
Utility service territories are typically geographically distinct from one another. These territories may be set by regulation or by economics as the capital cost of reproducing infrastructure is usually prohibitive. Each territory is composed of different types of consumers, usually broadly described as either commercial, residential or industrial.
Tariff structure
Electricity consumers are divided into classes of service or sectors (residential, commercial, industrial, and other) based on the type of service they receive. Sectoral classification of consumers is determined by each utility and is based on various criteria such as:
- demand levels
- rate schedules
- distribution voltage
- accounting methods
- end-use applications
- other social and economic characteristics
Utilities typically employ a number of tariffs. The alternative tariffs reflect consumers' varying consumption levels and patterns and the associated impact on the utility's costs of providing the service.
Power Transactions
An electric power system is a group of generation, transmission, distribution, communication, and other facilities that are physically connected. The flow of electricity with the system is maintained and controlled by dispatch centers. It is the responsibility of the dispatch center to match the supply of electricity with the demand. In order to carry out its responsibilities, the dispatch center is authorized to buy and sell electricity based on system requirements. The interconnected utilities within each power grid coordinate operations and may buy and sell power among themselves. The bulk power system makes it possible for utilities to engage in wholesale (for resale) electric power trade. Wholesale trade has historically played an important role, allowing utilities to reduce power costs, increase power supply options, and improve reliability. Authority for those transactions has been pre-approved under interconnection agreements signed by all the electric utilities physically interconnected or with coordination agreements among utilities that are not connected.
See also
- Consumer Advocate for Customers of Public Utilities
- Distributed generation Distributed generation, also called on-site generation, dispersed generation, embedded generation, decentralized generation, decentralized energy or distributed energy, generates electricity from many small energy sources
- Electricity generation The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday. His basic method is still used today: electricity is generated by the movement of a loop of wire, or disc of copper between the poles of a magnet
- Electricity transmission Electric power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, a process in the delivery of electricity to consumers. A power transmission network typically connects power plants to multiple substations near a populated area. The wiring from substations to customers is referred to as electricity distribution, following the historic
- Electricity retailing Electricity retailing is the final process in the delivery of electricity from generation to the consumer. The other main processes are transmission and distribution
- Future energy development Energy development is the effort to provide sufficient primary energy sources and secondary energy forms to fulfill civilization's needs. It involves both installation of established technologies and research and development to create new energy-related technologies. Major considerations in energy planning include resource depletion, supply
- Lineman A lineman or linesman (British English) (also occasionally called a lineworker or a line electrician) is a tradesman who constructs and maintains electric power transmission and distribution facilities. The term is also used for those who install and maintain telephone, telegraph, cable TV and more recently fibre optic lines
- Load Profile In electrical engineering, a load profile is a graph of the variation in the electrical load versus time. A load profile will vary according to customer type , temperature and holiday seasons
- Off-the-grid Off-grid homes are autonomous—i.e. do not rely on municipal water supply, sewer, natural gas, electrical power grid or similar utility services. A true "off the grid" or "off-grid" house is able to operate completely independently of all traditional public utility services. The idea has been recently popularized by certain
- Power quality In its broadest sense, power quality is a set of boundaries that allows electrical systems to function in their intended manner without significant loss of performance or life. The term is used to describe electric power that drives an electrical load and the load's ability to function properly with that electric power. Without the proper power,
- Voltage drop Voltage drop is the reduction in voltage in an electrical circuit between the source and load. In electrical wiring national and local electrical codes may set guidelines for maximum voltage drop allowed in a circuit, to ensure reasonable efficiency of distribution and proper operation of electrical equipment
- Rate Case A rate case is the formal process which industries that have the legal designation of public utility are mandated to go through in order to set the rate at which they are allowed to charge consumers for their service. Rate cases serve as one of the primary instruments of government regulation of such industries
References
Categories: Electricity distribution Categories: Electric power infrastructure | Networks | Electric power Categories: Energy development | Electrical engineering | Electricity | Power | Public utilities Public utilities are typically defined as companies that supply what are considered basic (essential) services to homes and businesses, such as electricity, gas, telephone, water and sewer connections. They should not be confused with non-connective services such as cellular telephone companies, nor to optional services such as satellite dish or
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