Electricity 101

When electricity is created by large generators at a power plant, it has voltage of approximately 25,000 volts. A volt is a measurement of the force in electricity that pushes electrons around a circuit.

Electricity travels more efficiently at higher voltages. The electricity coming from the power plant travels to a transformer that boosts the voltage up to 400,000 volts. This high-voltage electricity is then transmitted through long, thick cables made of a low-resistance material, such as copper or aluminum.

This high-voltage electricity travels over the wires to a substation where transformers change the electricity back to lower voltages. These substations provide electricity to factories and to your neighborhood.

When electricity from the substation arrives in your neighborhood, another small transformer, usually mounted on a utility pole, reduces the voltage even further to the lower levels used in your house.

(05/31/07)