Jim:
In broad terms, the way it works here in the UK is that the central
government (equivalent to the federal government in the US, Canada and
Australia) owns the power stations, which then contract with National Grid
plc, who own the main overhead wires (either at 230 kV or 400 kV as they are
upgraded), to distribute the electricity generated. This in turn gets
distributed via substations through secondary lines (in my case owned by
YEDL - Yorkshire Electricity Distribution Limited, who have responsibility
for ensuring the electricity gets physically delivered in Yorkshire and
Lincolnshire, which is the county in which I live) to the end user.
However, I don't buy my electricity directly off YEDL - instead, it gets
sold to to providers (in my case it is Scottish Power), who contract with
YEDL to buy so many units. The more units they buy, (hopefully) the lower
the unit cost (i.e. per kW.h), which competition means they will (in theory)
pass on to the consumer.
The idea was (and still is) to provide competition within the marketplace
(i.e. at end user level), by separating the distributor (i.e. National Grid
and the local distributors) from the providers. Whether it works or not is
a moot point - it probably did work in the beginning, but intense
competition has more or less levelled the playing field. I should add that
there is a government body called Ofgen who oversee the whole consumer
pricing structure, and are supposed to make sure that the consumer is
getting a fair deal, especially when it comes to passing on wholesale price
increases (i.e. what the power stations initially charge).
Hope this helps
John F-L
----- Original Message -----
From: "James R. Frysinger" <j...@metricmethods.com>
To: <j...@frewston.plus.com>
Cc: "U.S. Metric Association" <usma@colostate.edu>; "Robert Bryce"
<rob...@robertbryce.com>
Sent: Monday, September 21, 2009 4:25 PM
Subject: Electrical transmission and distribution
First of all, I'm changing the subject line.
Second, John has said something here that intrigues me. How do you go
about changing your provider of electrical energy, John? Do you have to
connect your house to a different set of distribution wires? Or, if you
keep the connection the same, who owns the wires you're connected to and
how are they reimbursed for their use?
In the U.S., one has no choice in provider. Only one company's wires pass
down the street and one must buy from them. The companies buy and sell
electrical energy amongst themselves under regulations established by
regional authorities.
Indeed, the Cap and Trade bill in our Congress at this time would require
companies to generate or purchase a certain percentage of the electrical
energy they distribute from "green" sources, which in fact might not be
directly attached to their transmission grid.
Jim
John Frewen-Lord wrote:
In the UK (and Oz will use broadly similar terminology), electricity
comes from things we call 'power stations'. My electricity is supplied
by Scottish Power (and no, I don't live in Scotland, they are just the
provider - I can choose between any number of providers)....
--
James R. Frysinger
632 Stony Point Mountain Road
Doyle, TN 38559-3030
(C) 931.212.0267
(H) 931.657.3107
(F) 931.657.3108
