Electrical utility is a company that engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a in regulated markets. The electrical utility industry is a major provider of energy in most countries. Electricity is an integral part of life in the Developed world. It is indispensable to factories, commercial establishments, homes, and even most recreational facilities. Lack of electricity causes not only inconvenience, but also economic loss due to reduced industrial production. Itaipu Dam is a hydroelectric generating station Electricity generation is the first process in the delivery of electricity to consumers. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Electricity retailing is the final process in the delivery of electricity from generation to the consumer. ... A developed country is a country that has achieved (currently or historically) a high degree of industrialization, and which enjoys the higher standards of living which wealth and technology make possible. ...

Electric utilities include investor owned, publicly owned, cooperatives, and nationalized entities. They may be engaged in all or only some aspects of the industry. Power marketers are also considered electric utilities--these entities buy and sell electricity, acting as brokers, but usually do not own or operate generation, transmission, or distribution facilities. Utilities are regulated by local and national authorities. The word investor may refer to: A person who makes investments Investor AB, a Swedish investment company institutional investor corporate investor This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... A publicly traded corporation often refers to a company whose shares are traded on the open market, such as a stock market. ... A cooperative (also co-operative or co-op) comprises a legal entity owned and democratically controlled by its members, with no passive shareholders. ... Nationalization is the act of taking assets into state ownership. ... Electricity markets have been and continue to be developed as a result of the deregulation of electricity utilities around the world. ...

Organization

Utility service territories are geographically distinct from one another. Each territory is usually composed of many different types of consumers.

Tariff structure

Electricity consumers are divided into classes of service or sectors (residential, commercial, industrial, and other) based on the type of service they receive. Sectoral classification of consumers is determined by each utility and is based on various criteria such as:

• demand levels,
• rate schedules,
• North American Industry Classification System (NAIC) Codes,
• distribution voltage,
• accounting methods,
• end-use applications, and
• other social and economic characteristics

Utilities typically employ a number of rate schedules for a single sector. The alternative rate schedules reflect consumers' varying consumption levels and patterns and the associated impact on the utility's costs of providing electrical service.

Power Transactions

An electric power system is a group of generation, transmission, distribution, communication, and other facilities that are physically connected and operated as a single unit under one control. The flow of electricity with the system is maintained and controlled by dispatch centers. It is the responsibility of the dispatch center to match the supply of electricity with the demand for it. In order to carry out its responsibilities, the dispatch center is authorized to buy and sell electricity based on system requirements. The interconnected utilities within each power grid coordinate operations and buy and sell power among themselves. The bulk power system makes it possible for utilities to engage in wholesale (for resale) electric power trade. Wholesale trade has historically played an important role, allowing utilities to reduce power costs, increase power supply options, and improve reliability. Authority for those transactions has been pre-approved under interconnection agreements signed by all the electric utilities physically interconnected or with coordination agreements among utilities that are not connected.

See also

• Distributed generation
• Electricity generation
• Electricity transmission
• Electricity retailing
• Future energy development
• Lineman
• Load Profile
• Power quality
• Voltage drop

Distributed generation is a new trend in electric power generation. ... Itaipu Dam is a hydroelectric generating station Electricity generation is the first process in the delivery of electricity to consumers. ... Transmission towers Transmission lines in Lund, Sweden Electric power transmission, or more accurately Electrical energy transmission, is the second process in the delivery of electricity to consumers. ... Electricity retailing is the final process in the delivery of electricity from generation to the consumer. ... // Energy development is the ongoing effort to provide abundant and accessible energy, through knowledge, skills and constructions. ... Linemen repairing overhead lines (that supply power to trains) Linemen repairing electricity distribution lines (that supply power to homes) A lineman is a tradesman who constructs and maintains electric power transmission and distribution facilities. ... In electronics, a load profile is a graph of the changes in the electrical load on an electrical device versus time. ... Power Quality is the quality of the electric power supplied to electrical equipment. ... Voltage drop is a reduction in voltage in an electrical circuit. ...

References

• North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC)