ABSTRACT
Any region's electric power grid is an assemblage of high-voltage transmission lines and lower-voltage distribution lines that connect diverse generating plants (using fossil fuels, nuclear power or hydro and other renewable sources) to numerous consumers of electricity (including residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation users). All elements within each regional grid are synchronized to their own alternating current (AC), which in the United States is 60 hertz (Hz, i.e., cycles per second), but are not synchronized with other regional grids.
