Since, and unless electricity has properties I’m not aware of, it’s not possible for electric power plants to produce only and EXACTLY the amount of electricity being drawn at an given time, and not having enough electricity for everyone is a VERY bad thing, I’m assuming the power plants produce enough electricity to meet a predicted average need plus a little extra margin. So, if this understanding is correct, where does that little extra margin go? And what kind of margin are we talking about?
In: Engineering
Electricity isn’t really “produced” as a commodity, like treated water or goods from a factory. All the electrons are in the wires already. The power plant creates pressure in the wires, known as voltage. This pressure from the power plant, transmitted through wires, pushes electrons through lights, electric motors, etc. Anything that runs on electricity causes resistance, which lowers the voltage.
So if a bunch of stuff gets shut off at the same time, and the power plant keeps producing the same, voltage in the wires would go up. This can cause bad things like melting the insulation on wires and frying electronics. So power plants very carefully monitor how much power is being used, and vary their output accordingly.
There’s also an opposite scenario to what you’re asking. What if there are more lights and motors than the plants can provide power for? Voltage in the grid drops, lights stop working or only light up dimly, motors run slowly or with less strength or not at all. These are called brown-outs.
Latest Answers