How Do Power Lines Work?
Electricity is delivered to homes, schools, hospitals, businesses and industries through an integrated system of power plants, power lines and substations. Transmission lines consist of heavy-duty cables wound between tall towers that carry electricity from where it is generated to where it is needed. Transmission networks allow for the transmission of large amounts of electricity over long distances. Power systems involve the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. As the demand for electricity grew and small power plants that could only serve local areas became inadequate, the need for high-capacity transmission arose. Newer, larger power plants come online, but far from load centers. Transmission lines were the only way to get power to where it was needed. Most long-distance power lines do not use insulation around the conductors themselves. Insulation in this way must be so thick that it is not cost effective. Instead, most of the insulation comes from the air