Utility companies will use two different types of electric lines to transport electricity directly to you. For long-distance, high-voltage electricity transportation transmission power lines are used (the type you can usually see on the side of the freeway).
For shorter distance transportation, distribution power lines are used. These will transport lower voltage electricity across a much smaller scale. Instead of being visible from the freeway, these are more commonly the types visible along the sides of streets.
However, when these power line fails it results in power-outages. In fact, it is the most common cause of power-outages across the U.S, so it is only sensible to prepare yourself for the inevitable. Keep reading to find out more about power lines and what to do if your power fails.
Transmission and Distribution – what does it mean?
Simply put, electricity will have to travel from power sources all the way to residential, commercial, and industrial users. To travel this distance electricity will make its way through a network of transmission and distribution lines, one type to another.
When a transition is made from one type of line to the other, transformers are implemented to modify the voltage – optimising the energy lost through electromagnetic fields.
Transmission Power Lines
Transmission power lines are used to connect power plants to substations at a high voltage. Further to this, they transport power from one side of the country to the other by using interstate connections. They can even be used to transport electricity between countries.
Transmission Power Lines – High-voltage
Voltage of transmission power lines can be anywhere in the range of 69 kV to 765 kV, resulting in higher power poles and cables far thicker than distribution power lines.
Transmission Power-Lines – Bi-directional Transmission
Transmission power lines can operate in a bi-directional fashion, with electricity going in both directions. This is entirely necessary to balance the grid. In wholesale electricity markets, electricity is transported from the area it is generated in towards the areas of demand. However, as supply and demand will change over time – there is a need for the ability to change the direction of distribution.
Transmission Power Lines – Maintenance
In comparison to distribution networks, transmission networks need to be operated more actively with maintenance completed through a combination of manual and automatic interventions.
Distribution Power Lines
Distribution power lines are low voltage lines that will transport electricity from substations to domestic customers homes. Lines are smaller and cover much shorter distances. The distribution network in the US is not directly connected but rather are connected through substations to the transmission network.
Distribution Power Lines – Low-voltage
Voltage for distribution power lines ranges from 4KV to 69KV, with cylindrical boxes acting as a secondary transformer bringing the voltage down to 120V or 240V.
Distribution Power Lines – Low-Voltage
Traditionally, US distribution lines are only made to carry electricity in one direction. As such, the network was not initially designed to accommodate generation. Worldwide, distributed generation has begun to be implemented more widely so smaller generation facilities like wind turbines, solar panels, and other localised power generators are ‘plugged-in’ to the distribution network. This causes a lot of stress to the distribution grid, resulting in grid-renewal efforts in some areas to make it more efficient for more modern methods of power generation.
Distribution Power Lines – Maintenance
In contrast to transmission lines, distribution power lines are considered passive systems – in that they are not actively managed by computer programmes or operators. Traditionally, distributions lines are uni-directional in their flow, transitioning from high to low voltage and thus do not require much maintenance.
However, where distribution generation is implemented, there is a trend away from this. Interestingly, alongside telephone lines, where shoes are thrown over and left to hang by their laces is an indication of a drug-dealing location or possible gang territory. There has been a gradual reduction in this act over the last twenty years, but in large urban areas like Chicago or Los Angeles there have been serious efforts in place to remove these potential hazards.
Power Outages and Weather
Extreme and/or unseasonal weather can often threaten the delivery of power to homes across the US. In most cases, retail electric providers should be the first point of contact for any electricity concerns, it is actually Transmission and Distribution Utility (TDU) that is responsible for responding to power outages and any electricity-related emergencies. All TDUs have a 24/7 power outage phone number for affected consumers and most will even have their own power outage map including the number of disaffected customers, repair update, and the estimated time of the outage lasting.
Does the Power Grid I am on Affect my Treatment?
It does not matter what power grid you are a part of, it shouldn’t affect your treatment. If the lights in your home go off suddenly and the hum goes quiet, it is unlikely that the outage is from the electricity grid itself. In almost the entirety of all cases outages will come from a blown transformer, knocked over power poles, or even power lines snapped by falling tree limbs. In the unlikely event that it is the power grid that faces issues, knowing which grid you are on will come in handy.
How do I Locate the Utility Company for my Area?
It doesn’t matter at all which location you are in or what service area you are a part of, power outages should always be communicated to your utility company, not your electric provider. There are a couple of places where you can look to find out which TDU services your area and exact location.
Locating Utility Companies – Electricity Bills
For customers in deregulated zones, the most sure-fire way of knowing which utility company works directly with your retail electric provider is to check out previous monthly billing statements. As every electric provider charges their customers for utility company fees and energy rate charges, the energy distributor charging those tariffs are almost guaranteed to be listed on the same bill.
Locating Utility Companies – No Electric Bills Available
If you do not have an electricity bill available to check for whatever reason (you may not be in recipient of bills yet, misplaced it, or mistakenly thrown it away) then all is not lost – you are still able to identify which utility company services your address.
One possible way in which you can do this is by your location. Although this is at best an estimation, using a generalised location is one of the fastest ways to find out which utility companies service exact addresses.
If you already have a meter installed and have direct access to it, it is possible to find a unique identifying code called and ESID/ESI ID number. This is a unique X-digit number that is assigned to each meter by the utility company in the area. The format for this ID is only numbers, and often found on the frontwards facing side of the meter. It can range from anywhere between 17 to 22 digits and will include an identification code for each utility company.
The utility company code (TDU) consists of five numbers in the digit places of 3 to 7. The first two will be ‘1’ and ‘0’ and subsequently followed by a five-digit TDU identity code.
The last method of finding out which utility company services your location is by using your ZIP code and address to look up your ESID/ESI ID and then use this to find your utility company. This method will only work if your home address has a meter installed, or a smart meter is installed and registered.
Power Outage but Utility Company is not Detecting the Need for Repairs
There are many reasons why your power may be cut out, and it is entirely possible that the outage has nothing to do with the electrical infrastructure managed by the utility company, or the grid’s electricity generation.
If a repair is not detected by the utility company, and no other customers are reporting an outage – it is most likely that your electricity provider has intentionally directed the utility company to disconnect service to your property.
However, it is worth noting that retail electric providers are not allowed to disconnect your electricity service in the following circumstances:
- Non-payment from previous occupant, who is no longer living at the residence
- Non-payment of an unrelated electricity service charge
- Non-payment of a different electric service type/class that is not included in bill as service was initiated.
- Non-payment of under-billed fees over 6 months prior to current billing (except in the case of service theft and meter tampering cases)
- Non-payment of disputed service charges
- Non-payment of estimated usage bill (unless part of pre-approved meter reading programme or the TDU cannot read the meter from causes outside of their control)
- If REP is notified on or before disconnection notice’s final due date that an energy assistance provider will cover sufficient costs and remaining debts owed
- Non-payment during an extreme weather emergency
- Non-payment if a chronic condition or critical condition exemption form has been submitted, and established, with the REP