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The
Coming Changes
“Utility deregulation.” “Customer Choice.” “Retail competition.”
These phrases may be unfamiliar today, but by mid-2000, they will
literally be household words.
The debate has begun on how to restructure the electricity industry in
the United States. In all likelihood, by the year 2,003, the way you buy
your electricity will be very different than it is today. No one can say
with certainty what the industry will look like just four short years
from now.
Legislators at the state have taken steps to begin the debate in
earnest next year.
.Clearly, electric utility industry
deregulation is going to be a hot topic in the coming months. What
follows are brief explanations of a few of the terms and concepts we will
all be hearing a lot about. .......................................
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Generation,
Transmission, and Distribution
Any system of electrification is divided into three segments called
“generation, transmission, and distribution.” Historically, consumers
have had little reason to know these terms.
With the advent of retail competition, however, consumers will need to
understand these terms to grasp the new choices becoming available to
them.
Generation is the process by which fuels (gas, coal, nuclear
fuel, etc.) or renewable sources of energy (hydraulic energy or solar
energy) are converted into electric energy.
Transmission is the process by which the generated electricity
is moved in bulk from the generation plant to the wholesale purchaser.
Distribution is the process of delivering the power from the wholesale
purchaser to the retail consumer.
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