Electrical grid
An electrical grid (or electricity network) is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids consist of power stations (often located near source of energy and away from heavily populated areas), electrical substations to step voltage up or down, electric power transmission to carry power long distances, and lastly electric power distribution to individual customers, where voltage is stepped down again to the required service voltage(s). Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. From small to large there are microgrids, wide area synchronous grids, and super grids.
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Grids are nearly always synchronous, meaning all distribution areas operate with three phase alternating current (AC) frequencies synchronized (so that voltage swings occur at almost the same time). This allows transmission of AC power throughout the area, connecting a large number of electricity generators and consumers and potentially enabling more efficient electricity markets and redundant generation.
The combined transmission and distribution network is part of electricity delivery, known as the "power grid" in North America, or just "the grid." In the United Kingdom, India, Tanzania, Myanmar, Malaysia and New Zealand, the network is known as the National Grid.
Although electrical grids are widespread, as of 2016, 1.4 billion people worldwide were not connected to an electricity grid. As electrification increases, the number of people with access to grid electricity is growing. About 840 million people (mostly in Africa), which is ca. 11% of the World's population, had no access to grid electricity in 2017, down from 1.2 billion in 2010.
Electrical grids can be prone to malicious intrusion or attack; thus, there is a need for electric grid security. Also as electric grids modernize and introduce computer technology, cyber threats start to become a security risk. Particular concerns relate to the more complex computer systems needed to manage grids.