Power Grids

Generation, transmission and smart grids. How power stations, transmission networks and smart-grid technologies deliver electricity reliably.

• Generation — Where electricity comes from and how it's scheduled. Learn thermal, hydro, nuclear and renewable plants, efficiency and heat rate, load curves, capacity factor, merit order and economic dispatch.
• Transmission — Moving bulk power over hundreds of kilometres at high voltage. Learn line parameters, short/medium/long line models, losses, voltage regulation, the power-transfer equation, surge impedance loading and HVDC.
• Smart Grid — The smart grid adds sensing, communication and control to every level of the power system. Learn smart meters and AMI, demand response, distributed energy resources, microgrids, V2G, PMUs, grid automation and cybersecurity.