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: We recently celebrated energy conservation day. In an energy starved country, the more energy we save, the more energy there is for other, more productive, purposes. The primary mode of energy supply is electricity. While we talk of conservation, little do we realise that there is an extremely complex process that goes on behind the scenes which ensures that when one presses the switch of a light bulb, the bulb illuminates at the same time. FE takes a closer look at some of these processes and some of the commonly used terminologies in the power sector

Who supplies electricity, and what are the sources?
In India, a bulk of the electricity is generated, transmitted and distributed by state electricity boards (SEBs). They are entities which are owned by state governments. A power generating plant sends its produce (electricity) to a transmission line by stepping up the voltage, and is then stepped down to say 11 kilo volts to be distributed to, say households. (Supply of electricity below 11 kv is called distribution).

While SEBs are responsible for 60-70% of the supply of electricity, the new electricity laws have now allowed the private sector to enter the electricity sector. Sources of power supply range from thermal power stations, hydel power stations to wind power supply, though the latter has a very small share in the total supply.

There are so many terms in electricity. What is the difference between a unit and a mega-watt (mw), two commonly used terms in everyday life?
A watt is the basic measure of electrical power, the capacity of work that can be done (technically, one joule of work per second, translating into a fraction of one horsepower). A 1,000 watts flowing for an hour make one kilowatt-hour, or 1 KwH, also known as one unit. Electricity bills are based on the number of units consumed. For instance, a geyser with a 1,000 watt rating running for an hour would consume one unit or 1 kWh of electricity. Or a 100 watt bulb running for 10 hours would also consume one unit. Under energy conservation, the idea is to deliver the same result derived from using a 100 watt bulb by consuming less electricity.