I have heard that electricity comes directly from powerplants to our homes. No storage or battery of any kind. If I turn on an extra light, how does the powerplant adjust for such a small change in the demand? Does that mean every other device that is turned on and getting electricity from this powerplant gets a little less energy to compensate for my light?
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You can’t consume more electricity than is produced, but you can also not produce more electricity than is consumed.
The power grid works at a large scale, so you turning on/off a light is not going to be significant as at the same time other people are also turning devices on/off.
A power plant of 500MW, might only be producing 450MW, and a slight increase in load can be absorbed by that power plant. As long as the load is within specs of the generator, it will deliver what is requested. The powersource driving the generator (steam, coal, gas) will have to work harder to deliver this extra load.
Compare this with riding your bike at a constant speed on a flat surface. If the road suddenly has a very slight incline, you need to push harder on your pedals, but you are still able to maintain the constant speed.
For larger changes in consumption (day/night), the consumption is actually predicted and the power companies ensure there are enough generators/power plants ready to accomodate the expected load.
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