An electrical grid refers to a comprehensive electricity distribution infrastructure that typically covers a wide area. A network of synchronized power producers and consumers, linked by transmission and distribution lines, and managed by one or more control centers make up an electric grid. Most people refer to the system for transmitting electricity when they speak about the grid of power.
In other words, the electrical grid is a complex system that transports electricity from its source to the customers who use it on a regular basis. These networks have developed from modest, regional designs to ones that today span thousands of kilometers and link millions of homes and businesses.
What are the Components of an Electrical Grid?
The grid is made up of countless intricate interconnections, but it is primarily divided into three parts:
Energy production
Power facilities, which use a generator to transform mechanical energy from a turbine into electrical energy, are where electricity is first produced.
In order to do this, power facilities need energy from fuels like coal, natural gas or primary energy flows like wind and sunlight. The next method (transmission) fixes this issue because these plants produce a lot of electricity and are frequently located far from where it is needed.
Transmission
Using power lines, electrical transmission is achieved. Electricity leaving the power plant goes through a transmission station where the electricity is stepped-up.
This indicates that as the voltage increases, the electric current decreases proportionately (the amount of electrons that are flowing per second). A transformer makes this voltage rise possible. The usual maximum distance over which this electricity can travel is 500 kilometers.
Step-up transformers are employed because electricity will undoubtedly lose energy due to resistance when travelling over long distances through a conducting wire.
By using high voltage power lines, this issue is solved (not entirely, but to an acceptable level). If the current decreased by a factor of 2, the corresponding power loss in the lines would reduce by a factor of 4, since the power loss in the lines decreases by the square of the current.
Also Read: What is Discharge Rate?
Distribution
Distribution substations that use step-down transformers, which do the reverse of what a step-up transformer does, are where electricity is first distributed. These step-down transformers reduce the voltage to levels that are safe for humans to handle because the long-distance transmission voltages are too high.
These substations are then linked by the distribution system to the various types of electricity-using clients, from huge industrial structures to modest homes. The voltages are further lowered and the energy is distributed among the subdivisions with the aid of additional substations and smaller transformers.
