ELECTRIC POWER GENERATION

Electric power does not exist naturally. It must be produced by machinery that turns some other form of energy into electricity. That other form of energy can be heat from burning coal, oil, natural gas, bio waste, or nuclear fission; sunlight; wind or water currents; or falling water. Machinery a power generator converts this energy into electric power. Electric generators vary in size from very small (about the size of a clothes washer and capable of providing power to only a single home) to very large (as large as an office building and capable of powering 250,000 homes). Generally, larger and newer ones are more efficient and cost less to run per unit of electricity produced.

A generating station, or power plant, includes one or more generators along with all the ancillary equipment needed to provide operation and control the generators. Most utility generating sites have several large generators at them, and thus the entire site produces a very large amount of “bulk power.” Most large utilities own or draw power from many generators located at several strategic sites (stations) scattered throughout their service territory. The city of Houston, for example, is at any one time drawing power from about one hundred large generators located at about two dozen generating plant sites.