Electricity is generated at power plants through various methods like burning fossil fuels or harnessing natural resources. This energy powers turbines that transform the energy into electricity. The electricity then travels through wires and poles at high voltages before being converted to lower voltages suitable for homes and appliances. It passes into homes through meters that measure usage.

1. How Electricity Gets to Your Home, by Robert Zappone
Beyond paying the electric bill each month, most people do not think
much about electricity, even though it powers nearly every aspect of
our modern lives. To understand this essential product a little better,
here is a brief explanation of how electricity arrives in your home.
1. Power plants create energy by burning fossil fuels (e.g., coal and
gas), harnessing nuclear power, or using natural resources (e.g., wind
or water). This energy creates steam, which powers a large turbine.
2. Inside the turbine, the energy undergoes several transformations:
heat causes an internal component of the turbine to spin (mechanical
energy), powering a generator that transforms mechanical energy to
electric energy.
3. Now the electricity is in the form that allows it to travel along wires
and poles to homes and businesses. Between the plant and outlets,
however, the electricity first must be converted into a high-voltage
form allowing it to travel; and then into a lower-voltage form, so it
does not overwhelm appliances.
4. From wires located around the country, electricity passes into
homes through meters that measure usage.
About the Author: Robert Zappone is a founding partner of energy
firm Starion, Inc., which provides energy to homes and businesses in
New York, Maryland, and Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
Illinois, and Washington, D.C. Zappone helped shape the company’s
sales and marketing procedures, contributing to the development of
a hybrid sales model. Starion is headquartered in Southbury,
Connecticut.