Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines which facilitate this movement are known as a transmission network. This is distinct from the local wiring between high-voltage substations and customers, which is typically referred to as electric power distribution. The combined transmission and distribution network is known as the "power grid" in North America, or just "the grid". In the United Kingdom, India, Tanzania, Myanmar, Malaysia and New Zealand, the network is known as the "National Grid".
Electric power distribution is the final stage in the delivery of electric power; it carries electricity from the transmission system to individual consumers. Distribution substations connect to the transmission system and lower the transmission voltage to medium voltage ranging between 2 kV and 35 kV with the use of transformers. Primary distribution lines carry this medium voltage power to distribution transformers located near the customer's premises. Distribution transformers again lower the voltage to the utilization voltage used by lighting, industrial equipment or household appliances. Often several customers are supplied from one transformer through secondary distribution lines. Commercial and residential customers are connected to the secondary distribution lines through service drops. Customers demanding a much larger amount of power may be connected directly to the primary distribution level or the subtransmission level.
The St. Marys River, sometimes written as the St. Mary's River, drains Lake Superior, starting at the end of Whitefish Bay and flowing 74.5 miles (119.9 km) southeast into Lake Huron, with a fall of 23 feet (7.0 m). For its entire length it is an international border, separating Michigan in the United States from Ontario, Canada.
The electric power industry covers the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electric power to the general public and industry. The commercial distribution of electric power started in 1882 when electricity was produced for electric lighting. In the 1880s and 1890s, growing economic and safety concerns lead to the regulation of the industry. What was once an expensive novelty limited to the most densely populated areas, reliable and economical electric power has become an essential aspect for normal operation of all elements of developed economies.
The war of the currents was a series of events surrounding the introduction of competing electric power transmission systems in the late 1880s and early 1890s. It grew out of two lighting systems developed in the late 1870s and early 1880s; arc lamp street lighting running on high voltage alternating current (AC), and large scale low voltage direct current (DC) indoor incandescent lighting being marketed by Thomas Edison's company. In 1886, the Edison system was faced with new competition, an alternating current system developed by George Westinghouse's company that used transformers to step down from a high voltage so AC could be used for indoor lighting. Using high voltage allowed an AC system to transmit power over longer distances from more efficient large central generating stations. As the use of AC spread rapidly, the Edison Electric Light Company claimed in early 1888 that high voltages used in an alternating current system were hazardous, and that the design was inferior to, and infringed on the patents behind, their direct current system.
Commonwealth Edison, commonly known as ComEd, is the largest electric utility in Illinois, and the sole electric provider in Chicago and much of Northern Illinois. Its service territory stretches roughly from Iroquois County to the south, the Wisconsin border to the north, the Iowa border to the west, and the Indiana border to the east. In September 2011, ComEd named the first woman to the CEO post, Anne Pramaggiore. When she was promoted within Exelon, ComEd's parent company, Joe Dominguez was named CEO and COO Terence Donnelly was named president while retaining the title COO.
The Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) is a publicly traded diversified energy company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey and was established in 1985.
DTE Electric Company, founded in 1903 by Thomas Edison.
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.
WEC Energy Group Inc., based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, provides electricity and natural gas to 4.4 million customers across four states. The company operates through its brands – We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, Michigan Gas Utilities, Minnesota Energy Resources and Upper Michigan Energy Resources.
ITC Transmission was founded in 1999 as International Transmission Co., a subsidiary of Detroit Edison, charged in the ownership, operation and maintenance of Detroit Edison's transmission system. In 2003, DTE sold the subsidiary to ITC Holdings Corp. In 2004, ITC Transmission became the first, fully independent electricity transmission company in the United States following the 2003 transfer of ownership from DTE Energy to ITC Transmission’s parent company, ITC Holdings Corp. ITC Transmission owns a fully regulated, high-voltage system that transmits electricity to local electricity distribution facilities. ITC Holdings Corp. became a publicly traded company in 2005 and is headquartered in Novi, Michigan. Today it owns transmission systems in several states under a unique independent business model.
Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (WPS) is a utility company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The company serves more than 440,000 electric customers and more than 315,000 natural gas customers in 27 counties in eastern, northeastern northern, and central Wisconsin, and a small portion of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
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 Edison Sault Power Canal supplies the Saint Marys Falls Hydropower Plant, a Cloverland Electric Cooperative hydroelectric plant, in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Excavation of the power canal began in September 1898 and was completed in June 1902. The canal and hydroelectric complex were named a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1983.
A grid-connected photovoltaic system, or grid-connected PV system is an electricity generating solar PV power system that is connected to the utility grid. A grid-connected PV system consists of solar panels, one or several inverters, a power conditioning unit and grid connection equipment. They range from small residential and commercial rooftop systems to large utility-scale solar power stations. Unlike stand-alone power systems, a grid-connected system rarely includes an integrated battery solution, as they are still very expensive. When conditions are right, the grid-connected PV system supplies the excess power, beyond consumption by the connected load, to the utility grid.
