industry basics
There are three (3) fundamental components of the electricity industry, these include:
- Generation - Electricity is generated at power plants. Generation plants are powered through the use of coal, natural gas, nuclear fission, hydro, and a small, but growing percentage of renewable generation sources such as wind, solar, and biomass fuels.
- Transmission - The movement of electricity at high voltage from the generation plants to the local distribution power grid (for ComEd, it’s the "PJM COMED Zone"). Typically regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
- Distribution - The process of local delivery of electricity to homes and businesses including the management & responsibility for reading the meters and maintaining the local utility distribution network. ComEd provides this utility function in northern Illinois. ComEd is regulated by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC).