The legacy North American electric grid has been a patchwork of
several large, synchronous AC grids that are loosely interconnected
with each other and within which:
A few thousand large generating plants produce electric
power and energy mostly from burning carbon and uranium
based fuels.
High voltage transmission lines carry electricity from the
generating plants to remote load centers.
Electrical distribution systems carry the power and energy at
reduced voltage one-way to retail customers.
Each regional grid is centrally monitored and controlled to ensure
that the generating plants will meet the aggregate needs of
customers within the constraints of the transmission systems,
Almost all of the generation, transmission and distribution is owned
by utility companies that operate as regulated monopolies. They
provide all of their customers’ electric energy and charge prices for
electric energy designed to recover their costs plus a reasonable
profit.
This grid performed exceptionally from its origins in the late 1870s
into the 1970s because:
Customer demand for energy grew exponentially.
Persistent economies of scale resulted in declining costs and
prices, both nominal and real.