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Electricity retailing is the final process in the delivery of electricity from generation to the consumer. The other main processes are transmission and distribution. Image File history File links Portal. ... Electricity (from New Latin Ä“lectricus, amberlike) is a general term for a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. ... World-wide electricity production for 1980 to 2005. ... Power line redirects here. ... 11kV/400V-230V transformer in an older suburb of Wellington, New Zealand Electricity distribution is the penultimate stage in the delivery (before retail) of electricity to end users. ...

Beginnings

Electricity retailing began at the end of the 19th century when the bodies who generated electricity for their own use made supply available to third parties. In the beginning, electricity was primarily used for street lighting and trams. The general public were allowed to purchase electricity only after large scale electric companies were started. Drawing of a self-service store. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Not to be confused with lightning. ... This article refers to public transport vehicles running on rails. ...

The provision of these services was generally the responsibility of electric companies or municipal authorities who either set up their own departments or contracted the services from private entrepreneurs. Residential, commercial and industrial use of electricity was confined, initially, to lighting but this changed dramatically with the development of electric motors, heaters and communication devices. As a general term, Municipal government refers to local government operating at the level of a city, town, or village. ... For other kinds of motors, see motor. ... A furnace is a device for heating air or any other fluid. ... Communication is a process that allows organisms to exchange information by several methods. ...

The basic principle of supply has not changed much over time. The amount of energy used by the domestic consumer, and thus the amount charged for, is measured through an electricity meter that is usually placed near the input of a home to provide easy access to the meter reader. Typical US domestic electricity meter An electric meter or energy meter is a device that measures the amount of electrical energy supplied to a residence or business. ...

Customers are usually charged a monthly service fee and additional charges based on the electrical energy (in kWh) consumed by the household or business during the month. Commercial and industrial consumers normally have more complex pricing schemes. These require meters that measure the energy usage in time intervals (such as a half hour) to impose charges based on both the amount of energy consumed and the maximum rate of consumption, i.e. the maximum demand, which is measured in kVA. The kilowatt-hour (symbol: kW·h) is a unit for measuring energy. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ...

Monopoly supply

The rapid growth in electric appliances in the early part of the 20th century contributed to an explosive growth in electrification around the world. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Electricity (from New Latin Ä“lectricus, amberlike) is a general term for a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. ...

The supply of electricity to homes, offices, shops, factories, farms, and mines became the responsibility of public utilities, which were either private organization subject to monopoly regulation or public authorities owned by local, state or national bodies. A public utility is a company that maintains the infrastructure for a public service. ... This article is about the economic term. ...

In some countries a statutory or government-granted monopoly was created, which was controlled by legislation (for example Eskom in South Africa). In economics, a government-granted monopoly (also called a de jure monopoly) is a form of coercive monopoly in a government grants exclusive privilege to a private individual or firm to be the sole provider of a good or service; potential competitors are excluded from the market by law, regulation... Eskom is a South African electricity public utility company. ...

Home electrical meters

Electricity retailing in the period from approximately 1890 to 1990 consisted of managing the connection, disconnection and billing of electricity consumers by the local monopoly supplier. electrical meters apartment File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Year 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar). ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ...

In many utilities there was a marketing function which encouraged electricity usage when there was excess capacity to supply and encouraged conservation when supply was tight. For the magazine, see Marketing (magazine). ...

Creating a market

In 1990 there was a significant development in the way electricity was bought and sold. In many countries, the electricity market was deregulated to open up the supply of electricity to competition. In the United Kingdom the Electricity Supply Industry was radically reformed to establish competition. This trend continued in other countries (see New Zealand Electricity Market) and the role of electricity retailing changed from what was essentially an administrative function within an integrated utility to become a risk management function within a competitive electricity market. Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... An electricity market is a system for effecting the purchase and sale of electricity using supply and demand to set the price. ... Deregulation is the process by which governments remove, reduce, or simplify restrictions on business and individuals in order to (in theory) encourage the efficient operation of markets. ... The New Zealand Electricity Market is a mixture of state-owned enterprises, trust owned companies and public companies. ... An electricity market is a system for effecting the purchase and sale of electricity using supply and demand to set the price. ...

Electricity retailers now provide fixed prices for electricity to their customers and manage the risk involved in purchasing electricity from spot markets or electricity pools. This development has not been without casualties. The most notable example of poor risk management (coupled with poor market regulation) was the 2001 California electricity crisis, when Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison were driven into bankruptcy by having to purchase electricity at high spot prices and sell at low fixed rates. The California electricity crisis (also known as the Western Energy Crisis) of 2000 and 2001 resulted from the gaming of a partially deregulated California energy system by energy companies such as Enron and Reliant Energy. ... Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is the utility that provides power to most of Northern California. ... Southern California Edison, the largest subsidiary of Edison International (NYSE: EIX), is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California. ...

Customers may choose from a number of competing suppliers. They may also opt to pay more for "green" power, i.e. electricity sourced from renewable energy generation such as wind power or solar power. Green energy is a term used by some environmentalists to describe what they deem to be environmentally friendly sources of power. ... Renewable energy effectively utilizes natural resources such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal heat, which are naturally replenished. ... An example of a wind turbine. ... Solar power describes a number of methods of harnessing energy from the light of the sun. ...

An electricity provider is often known as "the electric company" or "the power company". For information regarding the 1970s childrens television show, see The Electric Company. ...

Rates

The rates charged for electricity vary between countries, regions and states. The reason for the variation is primarily regulation and the way it is generated. For example, some states in the US have large hydroelectric generation facilities that are largely subsidized and relatively efficient, and rates are as low as $0.06 per kWh, as in Idaho. In other states, such as California, which has to import electricity from neighboring states, the rates can be as high as $0.38 per kWh during peak hours for high-use residential customers that pay based on time of use [1](.xls file). As of 2006 (May), the average rate for electricity in the US is approximately $0.106 per kWh [2]. Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program written and distributed by Microsoft for computers using the Microsoft Windows operating system and Apple Macintosh computers. ... 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Distributed generation
• Eugene Green Energy Standard
• Modem
• Net metering
• Peak demand and off-peak
• Vehicle-to-grid