Grand Island Utilities Department (GIUD) distributes electricity to homes and
businesses located within our service area.
GIUD's residential and commercial customers use 700,000,000 kilowatt hours of
electricity each year. Here is how it is done.
- A boiler contains the furnace where burning fuel (coal,
oil or natural gas) heats water to make steam.
- A turbine changes steam's heat energy into mechanical
energy. Steam pushes blades rotating on a bar, causing it to spin at a high
speed.
- A generator changes mechanical energy into electrical
energy. The spinning bar of the turbine causes a huge magnet in the
generator to rotate past copper bars producing electric current.
- Transformer stations increase voltage of electrical
current so it can travel long distances.
- Substation transformers lower voltage so electricity
can be delivered to local homes and businesses
- The electricity reaches the customer over a system of
distribution wires bringing the electricity to the customers meter, where it
can then be used within the home.
1998 - 2002
Grand Island Utilities Department -
Web site information page
- Last modified:
November 25, 2003
