1. Emeritus Professor of Electrical Engineering Arizona State University
SEC598S19 – Solar Energy Commercialization Session 02 (01/09/19) (a) Electricity Business Introduction (b) Sinusoidal Power
Ronald Roedel
Emeritus Professor of Electrical Engineering
Arizona State University

2. Learning Outcomes (Session 02a)
An overview of the electricity business
A brief examination of electricity business trends

3. Electricity Business Overview (References)
B.Shively and J.Ferrare, Understanding Today’s Electricity Business, Enerdynamics, 2012 (
US Energy Information Administration (

4. The Electricity Business - Introduction
The electric power industry can be defined to be the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric power to the general public.
Reliable and economical electric power has become a requirement for normal operation of all elements of developed economies
The Electricity Business is a complicated web of consumers, producers, services, operations, markets, and regulations
Once entirely constructed as a vertically integrated monopoly, it is now undergoing restructuring and conversion to new structures featuring competition and new services
Ref [1,2,3]

5. The Electricity Business - Introduction
The Electricity Business is a complicated web:
Consumers
Generation
Transmission
Distribution
Operations
Delivery Chain Operations
The Market Structures (Traditional and Restructured)
Market Dynamics
Regulation
Ref [3]

6. The Electricity Business - Introduction
Key physical properties
Electricity cannot be stored (easily or economically)
Supply and demand must be continually balanced
Electrical flow path is difficult to control
Electrons follow the path of least resistance
Disturbances travel quickly and are hard to contain
Electricity moves at nearly the speed of light
Outages and voltage and frequency fluctuations are not acceptable
Minute-by-minute monitoring required
Ref [3]

7. The Electricity Business – Overview

8. The Electricity Business – Electricity Consumers
Ref [4]

9. The Electricity Business – Electricity Consumers
Ref [4]

10. The Electricity Business – Generation
400 TWh

11. The Electricity Business – Generation
Ref [3]

12. The Electricity Business – Generation
Ref [3]

13. The Electricity Business – Generation
At all power plants, electricity is time-dependent (sinusoidal) or better known as “alternating current” or AC format
At most power plants, AC electricity is produced in 3-phase format
Many industrial customers expect 3-phase AC electricity

14. Electricity Business Trends (References)

15. The Electricity Business – Trends starting 2019
A Trump bailout for coal and nuclear power will continue to be a threat
Ref [5]

16. The Electricity Business – Trends starting 2019
FERC will remain focused on wholesale pricing issues, resilience and fuel security

17. The Electricity Business – Trends starting 2019
The federal environmental regulation rollback will continue 

18. The Electricity Business – Trends starting 2019
States will increasingly push clean energy and policy policies

19. The Electricity Business – Trends starting 2019
Grid modernization and performance-based utility metrics will become commonplace

20. The Electricity Business – Trends starting 2019
Gas generation will continue to dominate

21. The Electricity Business – Trends starting 2019
Energy storage will have its biggest year yet

22. The Electricity Business – Trends starting 2019
Electrification will become a central power sector issue

23. The Electricity Business – Trends starting 2019
DERs will become trusted bulk power resources

24. The Electricity Business – Trends starting 2019
Renewable energy will increasingly replace coal