The Electrical Industry
Amanda Deyerle
Angela Frank
Hilary Chilton
Electricity was first utilized by the Greeks with many discoveries coming forth. As the years went by, others experimented with electricity and we benefit from these discoveries as well. Thus, the electric industry came to be. What exactly is the electric industry? The electric industry consists of electric companies that work to provide homes, businesses, industries, towns and cities with energy to run their everyday lives. For example, businesses need electricity for phones, fax machines, lights, computers, manufacturing, and shipping. Homes also consume energy. The telephone that rings, the computer that is always on, the lights that never seem to go off, and the appliances that seem mandatory in our everyday lives require electricity. Electricity is a big part of our lives. Without it, where would the world be?
I. Historical Background
1672- Otto von Guericke reported the invention of an electric machine.
1736- Charles-Francois Du Fay suggested that electricity may consist of two kinds of "Invisible fluid," which he named "Vitreous" and "Resinous."
1746- William Watson suggested that electricity was only one kind of fluid and that an excess or lack of that fluid would account for the two kinds of electricity.
1753- John Canton discovered electrostatic induction. Henry Cavendish found that the force of electric attraction varies with the square of the distance between the charges.
1807- Simeon-Denis Poisson, Joseph-Louis Lagrange, Andre-Marie Ampere, Dominique Arago and George Green worked out the fundamental laws of electrodynamics.
1820- Oersted discovered that an electric current caused deflection of a compass needle. William Sturgeon invented the electromagnet.
1821- Michael Faraday took a survey of experiments and theories of electromagnetism.
1826- Georg Simon Ohm discovered voltage, current and resistance in circuits.
1831- Oersted discovered the principle of electromagnetic induction and the working basis for motors and generators.
1878- Edison began to envision an electric system that would provide electrical energy from a central power station and would deliver it to individually-metered households from transmission and distribution system. The Edison Electric Light Co. was formed.
1882- Edison's Pearl Street Station began operating in New York City, marking the beginning of the investor-owned electric utility industry.
1892- Edison General Electric company merged with Thompson-Houston and became General Electric.
1898- Before the National Electric Association Samuel Insull proposed that electric companies be regulated by state agencies which would establish rates and set service standards.
1916- Thirty three states had regulatory agencies. Early regulation of industry proved beneficial to both the electric companies and their customers, who got reliable, reasonably priced service.
1936- The Rural Electrification Administration was created to provide low-interest loans to expand electric service to rural areas.
1990- Investor-owned electric utilities provided approximately 78% of all power generated in the U.S. and electric service to 75% of the nation's ultimate customers. Generation and Transmission Cooperatives approximately 4% of the nation's power supply.
II. Causes
I. There are many aspects associated with the electric industry which lead to its increased demand. These aspects are renewable versus non-renewable energy sources, industrialization, and consumerism and increased standard of living.
A. Renewable versus Non-renewable Energy Sources
Renewable energy is energy that will replenish itself naturally and will, therefore, always be available. Some examples of renewable energy are: solar energy, tidal energy, wind power, hydroelectric power, geothermal energy, and ocean thermal energy. Non-renewable energy, on the other hand, comes from two processes which occurred as the earth developed millions of years ago. These non-renewable energy sources are: oil, coal, and nuclear fuels. Throughout time, non-renewable sources have been used over renewable sources. Because access to many of the renewable sources took advanced technological ability, non-renewable sources of energy were the obvious answer to the problem. Extraction of electricity from oil or coal was much easier than extracting electricity from the sun that didn't always shine or the wind that didn't always blow. With coal and oil, you dug or drilled it out of the ground, burned it, and it created the energy needed to run an everyday life. They also are available in many areas, so people would not find it hard to obtain. So, even today, the use of coal and oil is abused. To illustrate this, in 1988, 94% of the electricity generated came from non-renewable resources. (37.6% from oil, 22.4% from natural gas, and 27.9% from coal, and 5.7% from nuclear power - only 6.4% of our energy came from renewable hydroelectric power) With these non-renewable resources running out (projections of the remaining oil and coal supplies in the world range from 60-200 years), the development of renewable sources such as solar and wind power are becoming even more pressing.
B. Industrialization
"American society was an ideal vehicle for industrialization. The Puritan ethic and a belief in free enterprise fostered technological innovation and economic growth, and the country had enormous natural resources." Industrialization has been another cause of the increased demand for electricity. Industries are only able to function because of one major factor. This factor is energy, and this energy comes from electricity. Fax machines, lighting, computers, printers, production, assembly lines and most other aspects of industries are run with the help of electricity. Without electricity, industries would not be able to function. Around 34% of all electricity is used for industrial processes.
C. Consumerism and Increased Standard of Living
Consumers have played a large role in the use of electricity. When all of the new gadgets were invented to make the chores of life easier, such as refrigerators, washing machines, etc., everyone needed to have them. Anything that made a task easier was appreciated. All the new gadgets were immediately purchased as soon as they came out onto the market. Washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, and hair dryers all seemed to be necessary aspects of society. All of these new appliances in homes created a higher need for energy. Today there are so many appliances that we deem necessary when in fact, they are actually only things we want. TV's, stereos, computers, are all "needed" in today's society. In 1993, color TV's were in 98% of all households, clothes washers were in 77% of all homes, air conditioning was in 69% of all households, and window or ceiling fans were in 60% of all homes. All of these appliances are not necessary to our everyday life. Imagine how much energy we would save if we cut down on our electrical appliances by one-half.
III. Effects
Effects of using non-renewable energy sources for electrical production
Oil
1. Greenhouse effect
2. Toxic wastes
3. Air and water pollution
4. Sixty years of oil left at the rate we are going
5. An energy source found only in certain regions the world
Nuclear
1. Radiation exposure
2. Radioactive wastes with no safe way to dispose of them
3. Core meltdowns and resulting radiation releases
4. Clean energy - no pollution occurs from the process of nuclear fission
Coal
1. Miner's respiratory disease
2. Air and water pollution
3. Acid rain
4. Greenhouse effect
5. Toxic waste
6. Available in many areas
Effects of renewable energy
Solar
1. Construction or operational accidents
2. Air and water pollution (from solar cell production)
3. When used, no pollution occurs
4. Sophistication of technology of photovoltaic cells is improving
Wind
1. Construction or operational accidents
2. Technology needed to produce not widely available to third world countries
3. No pollution occurs when used
4. Restricted to sites where winds predominate
Geothermal
1. Construction or operational accidents
2. Restricted to sites where thermal vents appear in earth's surface
3. No pollution occurs when used
Ocean Thermal
1. Degradation in ocean environments
2. Climate change (if development of ocean thermal energy resources is on a large scale)
3. Construction or operational accidents
Since consumer and industrial use of electricity is ever constant these effects will continue to be obvious. And, as population increases and the standard of living rises worldwide, the depletion of natural resources will continue to be a growing problem as more electricity is consumed. In some cases, we only have a matter of years left. Although renewable sources will always be here, the technology might not always be available to produce them.
IV. Solutions
I. Corporations
A. Corporations need to design programs to secure commercial and industrial energy savings. Franchises with divisions spread around the world can contribute large amounts of energy savings with little effort because large decisions are made in a central office.
B. Manufacturers of housing can administer a program that uses efficient energy savings in manufactured houses.
C. Acquire cost-effective energy from all transmission and distribution systems. Savings from this are generally low.
D. Utilities can consider adopting fees based on the efficiency of the end use of electricity to try to encourage consumers on cost-effective conservation. This can also place the cost of inefficiency on the right person.
E. Building permit, zoning and planning agencies should develop more efficient buildings. These agencies have significant leverage with developers.
F. Utilities should cooperate on research, development and demonstration activities aimed at proving new conservation technologies.
G. Electrical utility corporations can initiate the move to alternative and renewable energy resources for electrical production, by funneling some of their profits into research and development. Initial short term costs will result ultimately in long term economic and environmental gains.
H. Utilities can assess cost-effectiveness of on-site applications of renewables on a site-specific basis as individual applications become evident and acquire ones that are cost-effective.
I. Owners and operators of power plants should assess the potential for energy savings from plant efficiency improvements.
J. Cut the link between profits and production. Have the profit come from savings that can be saved from not producing as much electricity. Energy savings costs less than energy production.
II. Grassroots
According to such grassroots organizations as Greenpeace, current sources of power do not solve the energy problem. Alternatives have been sought out by all, and some have been praised, such as solar power, yet some rejected, such as nuclear. The organizations refer to nuclear power as the "ultimate problem, not the ultimate solution." The solutions are labeled "The New Energy Deal", which include windmills and wind power, solar, and the newer hydropower. Other common themes among the grassroots groups are empowering oneself and voicing the opinions one believes to authoritative figures. This is repeated in several different organizations as the key to solving the problems facing the electrical industry. There needs to be awareness of what's going on in one's community and an active stance taken by others when something is going wrong. For instance, much protest by many groups such as Physician's for Social Responsibility and Greenpeace has driven down the popularity of nuclear testing and closed reactors worldwide.
III. Individual
Individuals need to become aware of what's going on in the community and voice their opinions when something is happening that they feel strong about. They need to learn the ideas of how they can conserve and become more efficient when using electricity. They need to teach their children about conservation so that the children can grow up and know how to conserve energy resources. Consumers can form public interest and lobby groups that promote the exploration and implementation of alternative energy resources.
IV. Education
It is important to educate children about the situations that certain industries are in. Programs taught to young children have themes, such as turning out the light when they leave the room, that are made into fun coloring books. Teaching this one idea helps conserve electricity, and delay the further depletion of natural resources for awhile. More programs at early ages will help to instill the necessity of electricity and it's wise usage. Teaching children about alternative means of gaining can spark the idea in a child's mind and they could help solve the problem. Showing the connection between the number of people and their demand on the electrical industry helps create the understanding needed to find solutions the more people that understand the problem, the more people that can help solve it. Mass education about the pros and cons of current power sources and the industries means of getting it to consumers is the best way to encourage the population to help.
V. Government
Instead of subsidizing coal, oil and other non-renewable resources the government should subsidize solar, wind and other renewable resources. Government needs to regulate how much of each resource a utility can produce. If a utility is told they can only produce so much than there won't be a high level of pollutant from that utility because they are regulated and can be fined if production goes beyond that amount. This can be a way to start regulation from the government.