My assumption is that electrical providers own their generators. So when they generate electricity, it goes out into this massive repository that is the electrical grid and then all consumers take at will from it.
So how do electrical providers keep track of “their” electricity and who is consuming it? Electrical production has to meet demand in real time so how do providers know who is responsible for generating how much at any given moment?
And how do the companies that own the power lines factor into this? Are they at all related to the power generation companies or are the latter just customers?
In: Engineering
You can be certain that any one energy network is only being fed electricity by one company. That company either sells energy direct to consumer or sells rights (often do both) to energy retailers who then take on the responsibility of checking your meter and managing minor works directly related to their customers (such as new connections and disconnections). They then get to charge you their rate for your usuage and they pay a wholesale rate to the Energy Network owner. The network owner is still responsible for the upkeep of the infrastructure
Smart meters are making it a lot easier for energy retailers to do this as they need less boots on the ground to track usuage as they connect to the internet and send the information straight to your “provider”. Some companies will occasionally offer a free upgrade to a smart meter as a sign on bonus when you switch from another provider.
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