ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the three main functional areas of an electric utility in a regulated structure: generation, transmission, and distribution. The perspective of an electric utility’s customer is important in both regulated and unregulated utilities, it is arguably more important in a regulated utility. The chapter discusses the three facets of electric utility systems: the electrical load, the type of generating units that are likely to exist for a utility system, and how those generating units will be operated in order to meet the electrical load. The number of generating units a utility will have may vary considerably depending upon the “size” of the utility; i.e., according to how many customers the utility serves. The operating cost of a generating unit is primarily a simple multiplication of two factors: the cost of the fuel and the efficiency with which the generating unit burns the fuel.
