Electricity Distribution Networks

Where this fits

How substations, feeders, transformers and service connections deliver power to customers.

Core system ideas

Distribution networks take power from higher-voltage substations and deliver it through local feeders and transformers.

Radial, looped and network arrangements provide different cost and reliability characteristics.

Distributed generation, electric vehicles and storage are changing local power-flow patterns.

Interfaces and tradeoffs

Distribution connects the bulk system to millions of individual loads and increasingly to distributed generation and storage. Local voltage, feeder capacity and asset condition matter as much as system-wide energy supply.

What organizations measure

Peak load, feeder loading, voltage, losses, interruptions and distributed-resource output.