The operation of an electrical grid is a balancing act – you have to produce *exactly* the same amount of energy as is needed, otherwise bad things happen. I don’t understand how does this rule apply on anything other than the largest scale of things.
I understand that *in general* you can predict a higher load on the grid during Monday evening when everyone is at home, and plan your energy production accordingly. But a power station can’t predict smaller load fluctuations like if I decide to turn on or off my TV at this very moment.
So, how does the electrical grid cope with unpredictable load that differs from the planned & expected one?
In: Engineering
Imagine it like this. The power grid is like a very large lake. Turning on a light in your house is like taking out a teaspoon of water. That small quantity is not enough to make that large of a difference. But if all the lights, all the air conditioners and all the motors come on at one time, that’s like opening a flood gate.
Detailed forecasts are used to approximate what generation is needed to accommodate load on a real-time basis. It’s not perfect but it’s ballpark close.
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