Eastern Interconnection - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Eastern Interconnection is one of the two major alternating current (AC)

Alternating current

In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....

power grids in North America. The other major interconnection

Wide area synchronous grid

A wide area synchronous grid, also called an "interconnection" in North America, is a power grid at a regional scale or greater that operates at a synchronized frequency and is electrically tied together during normal system conditions...

is the Western Interconnection

Western Interconnection

The Western Interconnection is one of the two major alternating current power grids in North America. The other major wide area synchronous grid is the Eastern Interconnection...

. The three minor interconnections are the Quebec Interconnection

Québec Interconnection

The Québec Interconnection is one of the three minor alternating current power grids in North America. The other two minor interconnections are the Texas Interconnection and the Alaska Interconnection...

, Alaska Interconnection and the Texas Interconnection

Texas Interconnection

The Texas Interconnection is one of the three minor alternating current power grids in North America. The other two minor interconnections are the Québec Interconnection and the Alaska Interconnection...

.

All of the electric utilities in the Eastern Interconnection are electrically tied together during normal system conditions and operate at a synchronized frequency operating at an average of 60 Hz. The Eastern Interconnection reaches from Central Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

eastward to the Atlantic coast (excluding Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

), south to Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, and back west to the foot of the Rockies

Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...

(excluding most of Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

).

Interconnections can be tied to each other via high-voltage direct current

High-voltage direct current

A high-voltage, direct current electric power transmission system uses direct current for the bulk transmission of electrical power, in contrast with the more common alternating current systems. For long-distance transmission, HVDC systems may be less expensive and suffer lower electrical losses...

power transmission lines (DC ties), or with variable frequency transformer

Variable frequency transformer

A variable frequency transformer is used to transmit electricity between two alternating current domains. The VFT is a relatively recent development...

s (VFTs), which permit a controlled flow of energy while also functionally isolating the independent AC frequencies of each side. The Eastern Interconnection is tied to the Western Interconnection with six DC ties, to the Texas Interconnection with two DC ties, and to the Quebec Interconnection with four DC ties and a VFT.

On October 13, 2009, the Tres Amigas SuperStation was announced to connect the Eastern, Western and Texas Interconnections via three 5 GW superconductor

Superconductivity

Superconductivity is a phenomenon of exactly zero electrical resistance occurring in certain materials below a characteristic temperature. It was discovered by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes on April 8, 1911 in Leiden. Like ferromagnetism and atomic spectral lines, superconductivity is a quantum...

links.

Electricity Demand

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) reported the following actual and projected consumption for the regions of the Eastern Interconnection:

Electricity Demand Projections
for Eastern Connection (GW)
	Summer			Winter
Region	2007	2017	Growth	2007	2017	Growth
FRCC Florida Reliability Coordinating Council The Florida Reliability Coordinating Council is one of 8 Regional Entities delegated authority to insure reliability by North American Electric Reliability Corporation in North American and was formed on September 16, 1996. The area served by FRCC was previously served by SERC Reliability...	47	57	21.3%	42	60	42.9%
MRO Midwest Reliability Organization The Midwest Reliability Organization began operations on January 1, 2005, as the successor to the Mid-continent Area Power Pool , which was formed in 1965. MRO is one of nine regional electric reliability councils under North American Electric Reliability Corporation authority... (US)	42	52	23.8%	35	42	20.0%
NPCC Northeast Power Coordinating Council The Northeast Power Coordinating Council was formed January 19, 1966, as a successor to the Canada–United States Eastern Interconnection . NPCC is one of nine regional electric reliability councils under North American Electric Reliability Corporation authority. NERC and the regional... (US)	61	69	13.1%	48	53	10.4%
RFC Reliabilityfirst ReliabilityFirst Corporation is one of the eight Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved Regional Reliability Organizations responsible for ensuring the reliability of the North American bulk power system, pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005...	180	209	16.1%	141	164	16.3%
SERC SERC Reliability Corporation The SERC Reliability Corporation is one of nine regional electric reliability councils under North American Electric Reliability Corporation authority. NERC and the regional reliability councils were formed following the Northeast Blackout of 1965. SERC was formed on April 29, 2005, as the...	209	243	16.3%	179	209	16.8%
SPP Southwest Power Pool The Southwest Power Pool is the oldest North American Reliability Organization still in operation. SPP's story began in the early days of WWII, when America was furiously ramping up production of weapons and military supplies. After entering the War, the USA had an immediate and crucial need to...	43	51	18.6%	31	38	22.6%
US- East Interconnection	582	681	17.0%	476	566	18.9%
MRO Midwest Reliability Organization The Midwest Reliability Organization began operations on January 1, 2005, as the successor to the Mid-continent Area Power Pool , which was formed in 1965. MRO is one of nine regional electric reliability councils under North American Electric Reliability Corporation authority... (CAN)	6.2	6.9	11.3%	7.3	8.2	12.3%
NPCC Northeast Power Coordinating Council The Northeast Power Coordinating Council was formed January 19, 1966, as a successor to the Canada–United States Eastern Interconnection . NPCC is one of nine regional electric reliability councils under North American Electric Reliability Corporation authority. NERC and the regional... (CAN)	50.3	50.7	0.8%	65.0	66.7	2.6%
CAN- East Interconnection	56.5	57.6	2.0%	72.3	74.9	3.6%
Eastern Interconnection	638.5	738.6	15.7%	548.3	640.9	16.9%

Electricity Demand

See also