the national grid

Question 1

What is the national grid?

Answer 1

-A giant system of cables and transformers that covers the UK and connects power stations to consumers
-transfers electrical power from power stations anywhere on the grid to anywhere else on the grid where its needed.

Question 2

What is the supply of the national grid?

Answer 2

Power stations

Question 3

What is the demand on the national grid?

Answer 3

homes + industry

Question 4

What are common trends on electricity usage?

Answer 4

Demand increases when:
-people get up in the mornning
-come home from school/work
-when it starts to get cold or dark
-popular events broadcasted on tv ( sporting events)

Question 5

What does the national grid do so that theres enough capacity to deal with a high demand?

Answer 5

• power stations run well below their maximum power output, to ensure there is spare capacityto cope with a high demand
  -lots of smaller power stations that can start up quickly are also kept in standby