Understanding Electric Power Systems

A COMPREHENSIVE LOOK IN LAYMAN'S TERMS AT THE MANY ASPECTS OF THE PROVISION OF ELECTRIC POWER, BY TWO VETERAN EXECUTIVES AND RESPECTED EXPERTS

Technological advances and changes in government policy and regulation have altered the electric power industry in recent years and will continue to impact it for quite some time. Fully updated with the latest changes to regulation, structure, and technology, this new edition of Understanding Electric Power Systems offers a real-world view of the industry, explaining how it operates, how it is structured, and how electricity is regulated and priced. It includes extensive references for the reader and will be especially useful to lawyers, government officials, regulators, engineers, and students, as well as the general public.

The book explains the physical functioning of electric power systems, the electric power business in today's environment, and the related institutions, including recent changes in the roles of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the North American Reliability Company. Significant changes that are affecting the industry are covered in this new edition, including:

• The expanded role of the federal government in the planning and operation of the nation's electric utilities

• New energy laws and a large number of FERC regulations implementing these laws

• Concerns over global warming and potential impacts on the electric industry

• Pressures for expansion of the electric grid and the implementation of "smart-grid" technologies

• The growing importance of various energy-storage technologies and renewable energy sources

• New nuclear generation technologies

• The 2009 economic stimulus package

Auteur

JACK CASAZZA is an electrical engineer with wide experience in the electric power profession as an executive, researcher, economist, and consultant. He has served as vice president in a major utility responsible for elec- tric and gas planning and research, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Georgia System Operating Co., and as chairman of the U.S. Technical Committee of CIGRE. Casazza is the author of six books on electric power policy and technology and founded the American Education Institute. An IEEE Life Fellow, he received the Halperin Award for his contributions to the development of the national transmission system. FRANK DELEA is retired from Consolidated Edison Company, where he had a wide range of assignments giving him insight into planning, operational, financial, organizational, and legal issues. He was the company's chief electric planning engineer, its chief forecast engineer, its first project manager for rate cases, and a corporate planning director. He is an IEEE Senior Member. Since his retirement, Delea has conducted many short courses in technical, business, and regulatory issues relating to electric power systems for non-engineers.

Contenu
Preface to the Second Edition xv

Acknowledgments xix

Chapter 1 Benefits of Electric Power and a History of the Electric Power Industry 1

1.1 Societal Benefits of Electricity 1

1.2 Origin of the Industry 2

1.3 The Development of the National Electric Power Grid 5

1.4 The Golden Age 8

Blackouts and the Reliability Crisis 9

The Environmental CrisesThe Shift to Low-Sulfur Oil 10

The Fuel CrisisThe Shift from Oil 10

The Financial Crisis 11

The Legislative and Regulatory Crisis 12

1.5 Global Warming Crisis and Concerns about Carbon Emissions 13

1.6 Restructuring, Competition, and the Industry 13

Ownership Structure

Chapter 2 The Electric Power System 15

2.1 The Customers 16

2.2 Sources of the Electric EnergyGeneration 17

2.3 The Delivery System 20

Interconnections 24

The Grid 24

Chapter 3 Basic Electric Power Concepts 27

3.1 Electric Energy 28

3.2 Concepts Relating to the Flow of Electricity 30

Direct Current (DC) 31

Alternating Current (AC) 31

Three Phases 33

Synchronism 34

3.3 Characteristics of AC Systems 34

Resistance 34

Induction and Inductive Reactance 35

Capacitance and Capacitive Reactance 36

Impedance 38

3.4 Ohm's Law for Alternating Current 38

3.5 Power in Alternating Current Circuits 39

Real Power 40

Reactive Power 40

Transformers 42

3.6 Power Flow 43

Division of Power Flow 43

Voltage Drop and Reactive Power Flow 44

3.7 Stability 44

Automatic Generation Controls (AGC) 46

Results of Instability 47

Chapter 4 Electric Energy Consumption 49

4.1 End Uses for Electricity 49

4.2 Customer Classes 50

4.3 Rate Classes 51

4.4 Demand and Energy 51

Energy 52

Effects of Load Diversity 53

4.5 System Load 55

Load Management 57

4.6 Reactive Load 59

4.7 Losses and Unaccounted-For Energy in the Delivery System 59

4.8 Forecasts 61

Chapter 5 Electric Power Generation and Concerns About Greenhouse Gases 65

5.1 Generation's Role 65

5.2 Types of Generation 66

5.3 Thermal Conversion: Using Fuel as the Energy Resource 69

Steam CycleSteam Turbines 69

Combustion (Gas) Turbines 70

Combined Cycle 71

Nuclear 72

Reciprocating Engines 73

Microturbines 74

Combined Heat and Power (CHP) or Cogeneration 74

5.4 Thermal Conversion: Nonfuel Heat Sources 74

Geothermal 74

Solar Thermal Generation 75

5.5 Mechanical Energy Conversion 75

Hydroturbines and Hydropumped Storage 75

Wind Turbines 77

Distributed Generation and Other Sources 78

5.6 Renewable Technologies and Greenhouse Gas Emissions 79

Supply-Side Options to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions 79

Financial Options to Reduce Carbon Emissions 83

5.7 Characteristics of Generating Plants 84

Size 85

Efficiency 87

Availability 88

Schedulable and Unschedulable Units 90

5.8 Capital Cost of Generation 90

5.9 Generator Life Extension 91

5.10 The Technology of Generation 91

Synchronous Generators 91

Variable Frequency and Direct Current Generation 92

5.11 System Needs and Evaluation of Intermittent Resources 93

Chapter 6 The Technology of the Electric Transmission System 97

6.1 Components 97

6.2 HVAC 98

Overhead Lines 98

Overhead Line CapabilityRatings 99

Transmission Cable 101 Cable Capacity 101</...