From power plant to light switch

soybeans, energy is a commodity. It is a product that is generated, consumed, bought, and sold. Sure, you can’t see it or hold it in your hand, but you can measure it, deliver it, and shut it off. In today’s world, energy is a necessity.

Like other commodities, energy is transported, but not by trailer, plane, or rail. Instead, it flows on a grid, a massive system of power plants and transformers across the country, all connected by hundreds of thousands of miles of transmission lines. From these high-voltage lines, power flows to substations and onto lower voltage distribution grids, where it ultimately ends up at homes and businesses. Energy differs from many other commodities in that it cannot be easily stored. Instead, it’s continuously fed onto the grid in order to match high-demand areas with high-production areas virtually instantly. 

The entire United States power grid is split into three smaller grids, called interconnections. The Eastern Interconnection covers the area east of the Rocky Mountains, the Western Interconnection covers the area west of the Rockies, and the Texas Interconnection covers most of Texas. 

The grids are further broken down into more manageable chunks, which are assigned to organizations that coordinate, control, and monitor the system covering the smaller region. These organizations are known as regional transmission organizations (RTO) and independent system operators (ISO).

Though individual utilities often own transmission and distribution lines, the success of the U.S. power grid requires cooperation from everyone. After all, the extensive network of connections can technically be considered the largest machine in the world. In recent years, much focus has been put into making the grid “smart,” updating it with cutting-edge computer technology, which allows more efficient monitoring and maintenance along with upgraded security and reliability.

So what exactly does this massive grid mean to us on a local level? Cass County Electric Cooperative (CCEC) and our power supplier, Minnkota Power Cooperative, represent small pieces of the overall grid. CCEC is a distribution cooperative, meaning our focus is bringing power to you; we distribute power to our membership. On the other hand, Minnkota is a generation and transmission (G&T) cooperative. Their focus is obtaining power and transmitting it for distribution. So how does Minnkota obtain power?

Much of it is generated at coal power plants or from various other nonbaseload sources, like hydro and wind. G&T co-ops and other utilities generate energy and deliver it to their customers. Still, it is not likely that the amount of energy being produced will ever exactly match the amount of energy being consumed at any given point. 

For example, during an extremely cold winter stretch, local consumers require more energy to keep their homes warmer. To be prepared for these unexpected demand increases, Minnkota has additional tools at hand. Load control may be enabled, allowing electric heaters and other interruptible loads to be remotely shut off. This enables them to manage demand and keep costs stable. Additionally, energy may be purchased from the energy market.

If energy demand outweighs energy production in our part of the country, during the same period of time, another generation facility located elsewhere may be experiencing higher production than demand. The excess energy from this facility is placed on the market and facilities experiencing high demand, like Minnkota Power Cooperative, can purchase it. Of course, if their demand is low, excess energy is made available for sale on the market as well. During times of high demand, they utilize load control, market purchases, or both in order to provide energy in the most cost-effective way possible.

The chunk of the grid that we currently belong to is managed by Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO). The MISO section of the grid covers much of the Midwestern United States and Ontario, Canada. It also includes a southern region, covering much of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Along with monitoring the grid itself, MISO also directs the energy market. It is responsible for managing the supply and demand issues of energy across its territory.

Working with providers across a large region is just one way that Minnkota and Cass County Electric Cooperative ensure that there is always enough energy supply to meet demand. It’s a complex system that operates on one chief principle— cooperation, with one ultimate goal— providing safe, affordable, and reliable electricity to members every day.