Introduction to Electricity Industry
PhDr. Tomáš Vlček, Ph.D.
International Relations and Energy Security
Department of International Relations and European Studies
Content
 Basic Quantities and Units
 Energy Transformation
 Basics of Electricity
 Electricity System
 AC/DC - History and Differences
 Transfer and Distribution of Electricity
 Pricing and Market
 Regulation of Electricity
 Electricity Trading
What is Electricity?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gvJzrjwjds
What is Electricity?
Electricity has many advantages
 easy to handle
 simple transfer
 it is clean and non-polluting
 it is elegant and inexpensive
Basic Quantities and Units
 Voltage U (V) unit 1 volt
 Current I unit 1 ampere
 Resistance R unit 1 ohm (Ω)
 Installed capacity P unit 1 watt
 Energy / work E unit 1 joul (Ws), j Wh
 Frequency f unit 1 hertz
 Efectivity η dimensionless quantity (%)
Basic Quantities and Units
 fluorescent lamp 8–25 W
 lightbulb 25–200 W
 laptop (sleep) 12 W
 laptop 20 W
 PC + LCD monitor 80 W
 colour TV 100 W
 washing machine 500-2,000 W
 iron 1,000 W
 el. pan/hot-plate 1,200 W
 toaster 1,200 W
 dishwasher 1,500 W
 vacuum-cleaner 1,000–2,000 W*
 tea-kettle 1,200–2,000 W
 electric locomotive 2 MW
 electric induction furnace 40
MW
* 9/2014 1,600+ W banned in EU; 1/2017 900+ W banned in EU
Basics of Electricity
 Installed Capacity
 Electricity Production (work)
 Capacity Factor
 Efficiency and Energy Transformation
Installed Capacity in the Electricity Grid on 31 December 2012
Type of Power Station Installed Capacity (MWe) Percentage (%)
Thermal Power Station 10644 51.9
Gas Combined Cycle Power Station 521 2.5
Gas Fired Power Station 750 3.7
Hydroelectricity 1069 5.2
Pumped-storageHydroelectricity 1147 5.6
Nuclear Power Station 4040 19.7
Wind Power 263 1.3
Solar Power 2086 10.2
Geothermal Power 0 0
Total 20520 100
Source: Energetický regulační úřad, 2013, s. 11.
Gross Electricity Production in 2012
Type of Power Station Electricity Production (GWh) Percentage (%)
Thermal Power Station 47 261.0 53.9
Gas-fired and Gas Combined
Cycle Power Station
4 435.1 5.1
Nuclear Power Station 30 324.2 34.6
Hydroelectricity (incl. Pumpedstorage
Hydroelectricity)
2 963.0 3.4
Wind Power 417.3 0.5
Solar Power 2 173.1 2.5
Total brutto production 87 573.7 100
Total netto production 81 088.4 92.6% of brutto production
Source: Energetický regulační úřad, 2013; percentages by T. Vlček.
Capacity Factor in 2012
Type of Power Station
Potential Eletricity
Production (GWh)
Electricity Production
(GWh)
Capacity Factor (%)
Thermal Power Station 93 241.4 47 261.0 50.7
Gas-fired and Gas
Combined Cycle Power
Station
11 133.9 4 435.1 39.8
Nuclear Power Station 35 390.4 30 324.2 85.7
Hydroelectricity (incl.
Pumped-storage
Hydroelectricity)
19 412.2 2 963.0 15.3
Wind Power 2 303.9 417.3 18.1
Solar Power 18 273.4 2 173.1 11.9
Source: Energetický regulační úřad, 2013; percentages by T. Vlček.
How did I calculate the Potential Electricity Production?
Boiler variants of Coal-fired power plants
Type Pressure (MPa) Temperature (°
C)
Efficiency (%)
Sub-critical 12 – 20 510 – 560 35 on average
Critical 23 – 25 510 – 560 35 – 47
Super-critical 25 – 36 580 – 600 up to 47
Ultra-super-critical 25 – 36 600 – 700 up to 54
Source: Kolat, Roubíček, & Kozaczka, 2008, s. 20.
Technical aspects of electricity production in different power stations
Type of Power Station Capacity factor (%) Conversion
efficiency (%)
Thermal 50 – 80 32 – 47
Nuclear 80 – 95 27 – 33
Gas Combined Cycle Power Station 11 – 60 38 – 60
Solar 5 – 20 12 – 14 (25, 34)
Wind Turbines 15 – 28 20 – 45
Pumped-storage Water 10 – 15 85 – 95
Water-flow 45 – 70 85 – 95
Source: author
Energy Transformation and Efficiency
Energy Transformation and Efficiency
LIGNITE, HARD COAL,
NATURAL GAS, OIL,
BIOMASS
ENERGY SOURCE
CHEMICAL ENERGY
STEAM
THERMAL ENERGY
ROTATION
KINETIC ENERGY
ELECTRICITY
PRODUCT
DEVICE: Boiler (combustion) Turbine Generator / Alternator
LOSSES: <10-15 % 50 % <5 %
EFFICIENCY is the sum of effectivity of all energy transformation processes, in
the picture above it is calculated as 100 x 0.85 x 0.5 x 0.95 = 40.375%
ELECTRICITY is an intermediate form of energy, we do not use electricity, but
heat, light, mechanical energy = effectivity (losses) of downstream appliances
is also in play
How much will I pay for 2 litres of tea, if I have a 1 l
electric teapot (P = 1,500 We)? It takes 5 minutes to
boil the water in the teapot and the electricity costs
4 CZK /1 kWh.
How much will I pay for 2 litres of tea, if I have a 1 l
electric teapot (P = 1,500 We)? It takes 5 minutes to
boil the water in the teapot and the electricity costs
4 CZK /1 kWh.
The teapot is used twice for 5 minutes
= 10 minutes
= 1/6 * 1,500 We
= 250 Wh
= 0.25 kWh = 1 CZK
You have a 2010 vacuum cleaner with the input of
1,500 We. Usually you use it once a week for an
hour. In 2018 you decided to buy a new one, due to
the EU regulations its output is only 750 We. Due to
unexpected circumstances, you are forced to use
the vacuum cleaner 5 times in a month for an hour.
The price of electricity is 4 CZK /1 kWh. Are your
monthly electricity expenditures lower than with
the previous one? How much are they?
2010 vacuum cleaner
4 hours in a month x 1,500 We = 6,000 Wh = 6 kWh
6 kWh x 4 CZK = 24 CZK
2018 vacuum cleaner
5 hours in a month x 750 We = 3,750 Wh = 3.75 kWh
3.75 kWh x 4 CZK = 15 CZK
Does it make sense to buy a new vacuum cleaner to save money on electricity?