Southwest Power Pool Electric Energy Network - Keeping the Lights On. U.S. Power Grid. The U.S. electric grid is a complex network of independently owned and operated power plants and transmission lines. The electric grid delivers electricity from points of generation to consumers, and the electricity delivery network functions via two primary systems: the transmission system and the distribution system. The transmission system delivers electricity from power plants to distribution substations, while the distribution system delivers electricity from distribution substations to consumers. The grid also encompasses myriads of local area networks that use distributed energy resources to serve local loads and/or to meet specific application requirements for remote power, village or district power, premium power, and critical loads protection.
It is important to note that there is no "national power grid" in the United States. In fact, the continental United States is divided into three main power grids: Department Of Energy Graphic Credit:EIA. Western Electricity Coordinating Council. Midwest Reliability Organization. SERC Home Page. The SERC Reliability Corporation (SERC) is a nonprofit corporation responsible for promoting and improving the reliability, adequacy, and critical infrastructure of the bulk power supply systems in all or portions of 16 central and southeastern states.
Owners, operators, and users of the bulk power system in these states cover an area of approximately 560,000 square miles and comprise what is known as the SERC Region. On July 20, 2006, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) was certified as the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) in the United States, pursuant to Section 215 of the Federal Power Act. Included in this certification was a provision for the ERO to delegate authority for the purpose of proposing and enforcing reliability standards in particular regions of the country by entering into delegation agreements with regional entities. PJM - Home. Electric Power Markets - National Overview. Rural Utilities Service. This site displays a prototype of a “Web 2.0” version of the daily Federal Register. It is not an official legal edition of the Federal Register, and does not replace the official print version or the official electronic version on GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys.gov).
The articles posted on this site are XML renditions of published Federal Register documents. Each document posted on the site includes a link to the corresponding official PDF file on FDsys.gov. This prototype edition of the daily Federal Register on FederalRegister.gov will remain an unofficial informational resource until the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register (ACFR) issues a regulation granting it official legal status. The OFR/GPO partnership is committed to presenting accurate and reliable regulatory information on FederalRegister.gov with the objective of establishing the XML-based Federal Register as an ACFR-sanctioned publication in the future. Key Players. Electricity sector of the United States. United States electricity generation by fuel The electricity sector of the United States includes a large array of stakeholders that provide services through electricity generation, transmission, distribution and marketing for industrial, commercial, public and residential customers.
It also includes many public institutions that regulate the sector. In 1996, there were 3,195 electric utilities in the United States, of which fewer than a 1,000 were engaged in power generation. This leaves a large number of mostly smaller utilities engaged only in power distribution. The four above-mentioned market segments of the U.S. electricity sector are regulated by different public institutions with some functional overlaps: The federal government sets general policies through the Department of Energy, environmental policy through the Environmental Protection Agency and consumer protection policy through the Federal Trade Commission. Electricity consumption[edit] Electricity generation[edit] Policy. Existing U.S. Coal Plants. To see a nationwide list of over 600 coal plants in the United States, click here. To see a listing of coal plants in a particular state, click on the map: This page provides information on existing U.S. coal-fired power plants.
For a list of proposed coal plants and coal plants that are under construction, click here. Overview The decline of U.S. coal 2012-2016. For the twelve months ending in March 2013, United States' coal plants produced 1,517,203 gigawatt hours of electricity, or 37.4 percent of total U.S. electricity production.[1] At the peak year of coal's contribution to U.S. power production, 1988, coal produced 57.0% of U.S. power. [2][3] Coal's share in power production has fallen due to major increases in production from natural gas and smaller increases from nuclear and wind. As of 2011, the Energy Information Administration listed 589 coal-fired power plants in the U.S., down from 633 coal-fired power plants in 2002. U.S. coal-fired power production in the global context. Rural Utilities Service.