Post #1883136
2023-06-04 10:04 UTC
Traditionally, electrical power is provided by big rotating masses. Steam, oil, diesel, or gas generators turn coils in magnetic fields, which creates an AC current in the coils. Their turning speed determines the grid's frequency.
If too much energy is drawn from them, they slow down, if it is too little, they speed up. But machines have used centrifugal governors to regulate their speed at least since Watt invented his steam engine, so controlling rotation speed is a solved problem:
Replies (1)
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@sbi@toot.berlin 2023-06-04 10:05
Increase fuel usage when the frequency is going down, reduce it if it is going up, so you always provide exactly the power needed. This is generally called primary control (or frequency response): an immediate response to demand fluctuations, fast enough to be practically instantaneous. What's more, communicating this throughout the grid by means of frequency allows generators to orchestrate power distribution: All producers see how it changes and can contribute to the best of their abilities.