The electric power industry covers the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric power to the general public and industry, spanning the entire chain from producing electricity to delivering it to end users, a commercial sector that traces to 1882 when commercial electric lighting distribution began. Global electricity generation reached 30.85 petawatt-hours in 2024, with coal supplying 34.4 percent, natural gas 22.1 percent, and hydropower 14.4 percent, alongside wind at 8.12 percent and solar at 6.92 percent, and the industry encompasses every generation method, whether fossil fuel, nuclear, hydro, or renewable, along with the transmission, distribution, and retail operations that carry power to customers. Despite this scale, about 840 million people, most of them in Africa, still lacked access to the electrical grid as of 2017. The industry is broader than any single generation source, renewable power included, since it covers the full chain of production and delivery rather than one technology alone.
Facts
SectorElectric power generation 1 FAQs
How does electricity get from a power plant to a home or business?
It travels over high-voltage transmission lines and then local distribution lines.
Power plants generate electricity and send it to customers through transmission and distribution power lines. High-voltage transmission lines, such as those hanging between tall metal towers, carry electricity over long distances. This delivery stage belongs to the same industry as generation, which is why the industry is defined as covering the whole chain from production to end users.
Connections
Associated With
Nuclear power plants generate electricity, a segment of the broader electric power industry.
Source Wikipedia, Nuclear power
Companies In Industry
Source Wikipedia: AGL Energy
Source Wikidata: Baywind Energy Co-operative
Source Wikidata: Brighton Energy Co-operative
Source Wikipedia: Central Negros Electric Cooperative
Source U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR): EDGAR company record for CENTRAL PUERTO S.A.
Source China Resources Power (Wikipedia)
Source China Yangtze Power, Wikipedia
Source Wikipedia: CLP Group
Source Contact Energy (Wikipedia)
Source Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative (Wikipedia)
Source Wikidata: Drax Group plc
Source Eletrobras (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia, Fortis Inc.
Source Fortum - Wikipedia
Source Wikipedia, Hawaiian Electric Industries
Source Huadian Power International (Wikipedia)
Source Wikidata: Huaneng Power International, Inc.
Source Wikipedia: Hydro One
Source Kansai Electric Power Company (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Kenya Electricity Generating Company
Source Kyushu Electric Power (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Mercury NZ
Source Wikipedia: Meridian Energy
Source Wikidata: National Grid plc
Source Wikipedia, Oglethorpe Power
Source Wikipedia, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative
Source Wikipedia, Otter Tail Corporation
Source Wikidata: Power Grid Corporation of India Limited
Source Wikidata: Red Electrica de Espana
Source Wikipedia: Redes Energéticas Nacionais
Source Wikipedia: State Grid Corporation of China
Source Tauron Polska Energia (Wikipedia)
Source Wikidata: Tenaga Nasional Berhad
Source Wikidata: Terna S.p.A.
Source Transmission Company of Nigeria (Wikipedia)
Source Volta River Authority (Wikipedia)
In Sector
Additional Source Wikipedia: Global Industry Classification StandardGICS: Electric Utilities
Sources
1. Wikipedia, Electric power industry
Wikipedialead sectionQuote, lead section
The electric power industry covers the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electric power to the general public and industry.
Wikipedia, Nuclear power
Wikidata: Drax Group plc
WikidataCompanies In Industry: Drax Group plc, Wikidata statement: industry (P452)Quote, Companies In Industry: Drax Group plc, Wikidata statement: industry (P452)
industry (P452) target Q2316331, matched to the live industry entity "Electric Power Industry" by qid (enwiki-sitelink resolved)
Wikidata: Red Electrica de Espana
WikidataCompanies In Industry: Red Eléctrica de España, Wikidata statement: industry (P452)Quote, Companies In Industry: Red Eléctrica de España, Wikidata statement: industry (P452)
industry (P452) target Q2316331, matched to the live industry entity "Electric Power Industry" by qid (enwiki-sitelink resolved)
Wikipedia: AGL Energy
WikipediaCompanies In Industry: AGL Energy Limited, Wikidata statement: industry (P452)Quote, Companies In Industry: AGL Energy Limited, Wikidata statement: industry (P452)
industry (P452) target Q2316331, matched to the live industry entity "Electric Power Industry" by qid (enwiki-sitelink resolved)
Wikipedia: CLP Group
WikipediaCompanies In Industry: CLP Holdings Limited, Wikidata statement: industry (P452)Quote, Companies In Industry: CLP Holdings Limited, Wikidata statement: industry (P452)
industry (P452) target Q2316331, matched to the live industry entity "Electric Power Industry" by qid (enwiki-sitelink resolved)
Wikipedia: Hydro One
WikipediaCompanies In Industry: Hydro One Limited, Infobox: industryQuote, Companies In Industry: Hydro One Limited, Infobox: industry
Electric utilities
Wikipedia: State Grid Corporation of China
WikipediaCompanies In Industry: State Grid Corporation of China, Wikidata statement: industry (P452)Quote, Companies In Industry: State Grid Corporation of China, Wikidata statement: industry (P452)
industry (P452) target Q2316331, matched to the live industry entity "Electric Power Industry" by qid (enwiki-sitelink resolved)
Wikipedia: Central Negros Electric Cooperative
WikipediaCompanies In Industry: Central Negros Electric Cooperative, Infobox: industryQuote, Companies In Industry: Central Negros Electric Cooperative, Infobox: industry
Electrical power industry
Wikipedia: Kenya Electricity Generating Company
WikipediaCompanies In Industry: Kenya Electricity Generating Company, Infobox: industryQuote, Companies In Industry: Kenya Electricity Generating Company, Infobox: industry
Electric power
Wikipedia: Redes Energéticas Nacionais
WikipediaCompanies In Industry: Redes Energéticas Nacionais, Wikidata statement: industry (P452)Quote, Companies In Industry: Redes Energéticas Nacionais, Wikidata statement: industry (P452)
industry (P452) target Q2316331, matched to the live industry entity "Electric Power Industry" by qid (enwiki-sitelink resolved)
Wikipedia: Meridian Energy
WikipediaCompanies In Industry: Meridian Energy, Wikidata statement: industry (P452)Quote, Companies In Industry: Meridian Energy, Wikidata statement: industry (P452)
industry (P452) target Q2316331, matched to the live industry entity "Electric Power Industry" by qid (enwiki-sitelink resolved)
Wikidata: Baywind Energy Co-operative
WikidataCompanies In Industry: Baywind Energy Co-operative, Wikidata statement: industry (P452)Quote, Companies In Industry: Baywind Energy Co-operative, Wikidata statement: industry (P452)
industry (P452) target Q2316331, matched to the live industry entity by qid (enwiki-sitelink resolved)
Wikidata: Brighton Energy Co-operative
WikidataCompanies In Industry: Brighton Energy Co-operative, Wikidata statement: industry (P452)Quote, Companies In Industry: Brighton Energy Co-operative, Wikidata statement: industry (P452)
industry (P452) target Q2316331, matched to the live industry entity by qid (enwiki-sitelink resolved)
Wikidata: National Grid plc
Wikidata: Terna S.p.A.
Wikidata: Power Grid Corporation of India Limited
Companies In Industry: Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, Wikidata Q3400886View the Source Wikidata: Huaneng Power International, Inc.
Companies In Industry: Huaneng Power International, Inc., Wikidata Q1507642View the Source Wikidata: Tenaga Nasional Berhad
Companies In Industry: Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Wikidata Q1584297View the Source Wikipedia: Global Industry Classification Standard
Tauron Polska Energia (Wikipedia)
Companies In Industry: Tauron Polska Energia, Infobox: industryQuote, Companies In Industry: Tauron Polska Energia, Infobox: industry
Power generation
Wikipedia, Oglethorpe Power
WikipediaCompanies In Industry: Oglethorpe Power, Infobox: industryQuote, Companies In Industry: Oglethorpe Power, Infobox: industry
Electric utility
Fortum - Wikipedia
Companies In Industry: Fortum Oyj, Infobox: industryQuote, Companies In Industry: Fortum Oyj, Infobox: industry
Electricity
China Yangtze Power, Wikipedia
Companies In Industry: China Yangtze Power Co., Ltd., Infobox: industryQuote, Companies In Industry: China Yangtze Power Co., Ltd., Infobox: industry
Hydroelectricity
Wikipedia, Fortis Inc.
WikipediaCompanies In Industry: Fortis Inc., Infobox: industryQuote, Companies In Industry: Fortis Inc., Infobox: industry
Electricity generation & distribution, Natural Gas Distribution
Contact Energy (Wikipedia)
Companies In Industry: Contact Energy, Infobox: industryQuote, Companies In Industry: Contact Energy, Infobox: industry
Electricity generation Electricity retailing Natural gas wholesaling Natural gas retailing LPG retailing
Eletrobras (Wikipedia)
Companies In Industry: Eletrobras, Infobox: industryQuote, Companies In Industry: Eletrobras, Infobox: industry
Electricity
FAUR (Wikipedia)
Companies In Industry: FAUR, Infobox: industryQuote, Companies In Industry: FAUR, Infobox: industry
Railroad Power Generation
Volta River Authority (Wikipedia)
Companies In Industry: Volta River Authority, LeadQuote, Companies In Industry: Volta River Authority, Lead
The Volta River Authority (VRA) is the main generator and supplier of electricity in Ghana.
Transmission Company of Nigeria (Wikipedia)
Companies In Industry: Transmission Company of Nigeria, LeadQuote, Companies In Industry: Transmission Company of Nigeria, Lead
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is a federal government owned electric utility company in Nigeria established in 2005.
Wikipedia, Hawaiian Electric Industries
WikipediaCompanies In Industry: Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., LeadQuote, Companies In Industry: Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., Lead
Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (HEI) is the largest supplier of electricity in the U.S. state of Hawaii, supplying power to 95% of Hawaii's population through its electric utilities: Hawaiian Electric Company serving Oahu, Hawai'i Electric Light Company serving The Big Island, and Maui Electric Company serving Maui, Lanai and Molakai.
Wikipedia, Otter Tail Corporation
WikipediaCompanies In Industry: Otter Tail Corporation, LeadQuote, Companies In Industry: Otter Tail Corporation, Lead
Otter Tail Corporation is an electric power and manufacturing company based in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.
Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative (Wikipedia)
Companies In Industry: Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative, LeadQuote, Companies In Industry: Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative, Lead
Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative, Inc. is a non-profit rural electric utility cooperative headquartered in San Augustine, Texas.
China Resources Power (Wikipedia)
Companies In Industry: China Resources Power Holdings Company Limited, Infobox: industryQuote, Companies In Industry: China Resources Power Holdings Company Limited, Infobox: industry
Power Generation
Huadian Power International (Wikipedia)
Companies In Industry: Huadian Power International Corporation Limited, Infobox: industryQuote, Companies In Industry: Huadian Power International Corporation Limited, Infobox: industry
Power generation
Kyushu Electric Power (Wikipedia)
Companies In Industry: Kyushu Electric Power Company, Incorporated, Infobox: industryQuote, Companies In Industry: Kyushu Electric Power Company, Incorporated, Infobox: industry
Electric power
Kansai Electric Power Company (Wikipedia)
Companies In Industry: Kansai Electric Power Company, Incorporated, Infobox: industryQuote, Companies In Industry: Kansai Electric Power Company, Incorporated, Infobox: industry
Electric utility
Wikipedia: Mercury NZ
WikipediaCompanies In Industry: Mercury NZ, Infobox: industryQuote, Companies In Industry: Mercury NZ, Infobox: industry
Electric power generation
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR): EDGAR company record for CENTRAL PUERTO S.A.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)Companies In Industry: Central Puerto, Record: sicDescriptionQuote, Companies In Industry: Central Puerto, Record: sicDescription
"sic": "4911", "sicDescription": "Electric Services"
Wikipedia, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative
WikipediaCompanies In Industry: Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, Lead sentenceQuote, Companies In Industry: Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, Lead sentence
Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) is an electric generation and transmission cooperative headquartered in Glen Allen, Virginia.
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