When you look up at power lines or spot the equipment on a utility pole, do you ever wonder how electricity makes its way to your home? At York Electric, we want our members to understand how your co-op provides safe, affordable and reliable power.
We often “flip a switch” without much thought, but the modern electric grid is the result of meticulous coordination and immense investment and maintenance. While it may seem complex, the path of power to your home is straightforward.
It begins at generation facilities, where energy is produced from fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, alongside renewable sources such as nuclear, solar and wind power. As a distribution cooperative, York Electric purchases power through Central Electric Power Cooperative, a generation and transmission (G&T) cooperative that manages wholesale supply contracts with Duke Energy, Santee Cooper and Southeastern Power Administration.
After generation, a nearby step-up transformer in a transmission substation increases the electricity’s voltage to extremely high levels, ensuring little energy is lost as it travels long distances, sometimes hundreds of miles, along high-voltage transmission lines. These steel towers carry electricity away from the power plant and towards more populated areas. To be used in homes and businesses, electricity must transition from the transmission grid to the distribution grid—this is where your co-op comes in.
York Electric’s 29 substations each have transformers that “step down” voltage from 44,000 to 100,000 volts to a distribution range that is mostly 7,200 volts. From there, electricity enters co-op-maintained lines, running along roads and neighborhood streets. Spanning over 4,200 miles, York Electric’s distribution system, connected by primary lines on thousands of utility poles and underground infrastructure carry electricity the final stretch.
As it nears your home, a transformer, either on the ground or on a utility pole, reduces voltage to 120/240 volts, and a service drop wire delivers it to York Electric’s meter on the side of your home—so when you “flip a switch,” the lights turn on.
Often, we do not recognize the vital role of electricity until an outage occurs, interrupting every aspect of our lives. But whether you take it for granted or not, it has become indispensable and changes our lives for the better. Just as your co-op is looking out for you, we should all be mindful of the electric grid that runs through our neighborhoods and communities, doing our part to appreciate the system that powers our lives.
President and Chief Executive Officer