TABLE OF CONTENTS H.Wayne Beaty [*]
Editor, Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers
The power industry is engaged in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electrical energy which is obtained by conversion from other forms of energy such as coal, gas, oil, nuclear, water, or other renewable energy. These activities often include mining, rail transport, shipping, slurry pipelines, and storage of energy in many forms. Many electric utilities are also engaged in the transmission and distribution of gas.
In the first 90 years of its history, the industry expanded at a pace nearly twice that of the overall economy, doubling roughly every 10 years. During this period, real prices per kilowatthour decreased steadily because of generation, transmission, and distribution technical improvements, productivity increases, and stable fuel prices. Throughout the 1970s, increased fuel costs, limits in economies of scale, diminishing returns in technology improvement, and increased regulation costs led to increased kilowatthour costs and reduced demand growth.
The political and economic response to increasing costs has been a movement to smaller generator sizes, minimization of capital investment, and attempts to control costs by fostering competition in generation supply. Incentives also were established to reduce demands and increase load factors. Today power supply is diversifying away from large central station technologies and toward increased use and availability of the transmission system.
In scheduling its day-to-day operation, and in planning for its future growth, the industry has made extensive use of analytical tools and mathematical models which, through optimization and...
