Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery to end users or its storage, using for example, the pumped-storage method.
Southern Company is an American gas and electric utility holding company based in the Southern United States. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with executive offices located in Birmingham, Alabama. As of 2021 it is the second largest utility company in the U.S. in terms of customer base. Through its subsidiaries it serves 9 million gas and electric utility customers in 6 states. Southern Company's regulated regional electric utilities serve a 120,000-square-mile (310,000 km2) territory with 27,000 miles (43,000 km) of distribution lines.
A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid.
Puget Sound Energy, Inc. (PSE) is an energy utility company based in the U.S. state of Washington that provides electrical power and natural gas to the Puget Sound region. The utility serves electricity to more than 1.2 million customers in Island, King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Pierce, Skagit, Thurston, and Whatcom counties, and provides natural gas to 877,000 customers in King, Kittitas, Lewis, Pierce, Snohomish and Thurston counties. The company's electric and natural gas service area spans 6,000 square miles (16,000 km2).
Xcel Energy Inc. is a U.S. regulated electric utility and natural gas delivery company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving more than 3.7 million electric customers and 2.1 million natural gas customers across parts of eight states. It consists of four operating subsidiaries: Northern States Power-Minnesota, Northern States Power-Wisconsin, Public Service Company of Colorado, and Southwestern Public Service Co.
Constellation Energy Corporation is an American energy company headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The company provides electric power, natural gas, and energy management services. It has approximately two million customers across the continental United States.
DTE Energy is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services in the United States and Canada. Its operating units include an electric utility serving 2.2 million customers and a natural gas utility serving 1.3 million customers in Michigan.
Consumers Energy is an investor owned utility that provides natural gas and electricity to 6.7 million of Michigan's 10 million residents. It serves customers in all 68 of the state's Lower Peninsula counties. It is the primary subsidiary of CMS Energy. The company was founded in 1886 and is currently headquartered in Jackson, Michigan.
The Lansing Board of Water & Light is a publicly owned, municipal utility that provides electricity and water to the residents of the cities of Lansing and East Lansing, Michigan, and the surrounding townships of Delta, Delhi, Meridian and DeWitt. The Lansing Board of Water & Light also provides steam and chilled water services within the City of Lansing. It is the largest public utility in Michigan.
WEC Energy Group is an American company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that provides electricity and natural gas to 4.4 million customers across four states.
ITC Holdings Corporation is an American energy company which owns and operates high-voltage electricity transmission networks. Headquartered in Novi, Michigan, ITC has operations in Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canadian energy company Fortis Inc.
The Saint Clair Power Plant was a major coal- and oil-fired power plant owned by DTE Electric, a subsidiary of DTE Energy. It was located in St. Clair County, Michigan, on the west bank of St. Clair River. The plant was across M-29 from the newer Belle River Power Plant in East China, Michigan. The first four units of St. Clair were built in 1953–1954. Since then, three more generating units were added to the plant. The St. Clair Power Plant generated 1982 megawatts in total. It was Detroit Edison's second largest power producer. The power plant has a large impact on the local economy, employing about 300 workers. The plant shut down in May 2022.
Belle River Power Plant is a major coal-and-natural gas-fired power plant owned by Detroit Edison, a subsidiary of DTE Energy. It is located in St. Clair County, Michigan, on the peninsula formed by the St. Clair and Belle rivers. The plant was built across M-29 from the St. Clair Power Plant in East China, Michigan, and shares the coal delivery terminal with it. The Belle River plant also shares cooling water from the St. Clair River with its sister plant. Five oil-fueled internal combustion generators were built in 1981, with a total output 13.75 megawatts. Coal-fired unit 1 of the Belle River plant was completed in 1984, followed by a similar unit 2 in 1985. Each unit has a nameplate capacity of 697.5 MWe, however the coal-fired plant as a whole generates 1260 MWe all year around. In 1999, three peaker natural-gas fired turbines were added, with a total name-plate capacity of 256 MWe.
PECO, formerly the Philadelphia Electric Company, is an energy company founded in 1881 and incorporated in 1929. It became part of Exelon Corporation in 2000 when it merged with Commonwealth Edison's holding company Unicom Corp.
The United States has the second largest electricity sector in the world, with 4,178 Terawatt-hours of generation in 2023. In 2023 the industry earned $491b in revenue at an average price of $0.127/kWh.
The Trenton Channel Power Plant, also known as the Trenton Stacks, was a coal-burning power station located in Trenton, Michigan. Completed in 1924, it is owned by Detroit Edison, a subsidiary of DTE Energy.
Solar power in Michigan has been growing in recent years due to new technological improvements, falling solar prices and a variety of regulatory actions and financial incentives. The largest solar farm in Michigan is Assembly Solar, completed in 2022, which has 347 MW of capacity. Small-scale solar provided 50% of Michigan solar electricity as recently as 2020 but multiple solar farms in the 100 MW to 200 MW range are proposed to be completed by the middle of the decade. Although among the lowest U.S. states for solar irradiance, Michigan mostly lies farther south than Germany where solar power is heavily deployed. Michigan is expected to use 120 TWh per year in 2030. To reach a 100% solar electrical grid would require 2.4% of Michigan's land area to host 108 GW of installed capacity.
Energy is a major area of the economy of California. California is the state with the largest population and the largest economy in the United States. It is second in energy consumption after Texas. As of 2018, per capita consumption was the fourth-lowest in the United States partially because of the mild climate and energy efficiency programs.
