Where does all of the electricity go?

Question

I work in a papermill, and we have a turbine generator. The generator was down for maintenance. When we brought the generator back online, I couldn't help but think where is it going. The country was not experiencing any blackouts everyone had electricity for the week it was down. So we come back up and are making money from selling electricty that the country was fine without. It doesn't make any sense to me. I hope my question is clear enough.

When all of our paper machines are running, we have excess electricity which goes out onto the grid. So all that happens is somewhere a big power plant is able to cut back a little when our turbine comes up? Sounds good. 2 of our electrical engineers didn't know that.

Answer 1

The electrical grid is set up in such a way that when one member of the grid generates electricity (like you) the big power plants produce less.

That's where the electricity goes - it goes towards NOT making the power plants produce it.

Answer 2

Let me take that one step further to stored energy.

If everyone is making electricity and not using all of it on the grid and then all the plants except the base load ones shut down but there still is not enough demand for electricity (usually at night when people sleep and industrial plants may not be running) then that is where stored energy comes into play.

Some of the hydroelectric plants that generate electricity when water flows down through their turbines from a giant lake behind their dam turn that process around. They supply grid electricity to the turbines. The turbines then pump water back up into the impounded lake behind the dam. Its level rises. The next day when there is a heavy demand, the lake water is gated to drain back down through the turbines. It drives them to make electricity to feed back into the grid

Answer 3

Try and imagine a teeter totter with a long section of pipe running down the length. It is closed at both ends and a golf ball rolls down the end as the teeter totter goes up and down. What keeps the ball rolling is someone pushing and puilling the teeter totter up and down. You and everyone else using electricity is enjoying the show as the ball rolls around. You can participate too, since it brings down the price of admission. The ball is really going nowhere.

What happens in the real world is that electrons flow back and forth in wires because an electric dynamo shoves them back and forth as its rotor turns. It is hard work to turn the rotor and this is why one has to pay electric bills. However, anyone can hook up their own rotor and generate electricity themselves. It saves the electric company work to have someone else lend a hand so they don't have to use as much energy producing energy. Thus, you get paid because it is porportional to the savings the electric company enjoys by not having to work so hard.

Answer 4

Well, that's the best thing about electricity.
It's doesn't go anywhere other than in loops.
The reason the country didn't go down
is because just down the road from you,
there's a steel company making
the bolts to keep your turbine generator
from flying away.

Answer 5

Brian L has it right. Who ever is making electricity gets the money. Even if you are only serving yourself or your company. There are tax breaks and all kinds of thing people get if they produce their own. It is suppose to encourage people to be efficient and not rely on the power companies.

Answer 6

It goes where all the poor electrical currents go when they do over the rainbow electrical bridge to see propane and and toaster and micrwave again and even the brave little toaster with edgar an rice and sam and george wahsington's big brother 1984