Electrical Grid

electricity · infrastructure · engineering · energy

Power stations start it. Electricity is created at power stations that are usually built near energy sources like rivers or coal mines, and far away from cities so they don't bother people.

Transformers change the power. Special devices called substations use transformers to boost electricity voltage way up so it can travel long distances through wires without losing energy, then step it back down before it reaches your home.

Giant connected network. Electrical grids can be tiny microgrids powering just one neighborhood, or massive super grids connecting entire countries and continents so everyone can share electricity.

Reaches your outlet. The grid's transmission lines carry power over long distances, and distribution lines bring it to neighborhoods and finally into houses where it powers lights, phones, and refrigerators.

All perfectly timed. Everything on an electrical grid has to work together perfectly and at the exact same speed so power flows smoothly and nothing breaks down.