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System Information

Ever wondered how electricity gets from the power plant to your home or business? It’s actually a lot more complex than the flick of a switch.

Here’s how it works: Electricity is produced, or generated, at a power plant. But because large quantities of power can’t be stored efficiently, electricity must be produced ‘on demand’ and consumed as soon as it is produced. To do this, it must travel long distances across a complex network of transmission and distribution lines, terminals, and substations at close to the speed of light!

Newfoundland Grid
Labrador Grid

Watch the video to see how our system works.

Our provincial grid

We currently have 11 hydroelectric plants, one thermal generating station, four gas turbines, and 25 diesel plants generating electricity. We also maintain 54 high-voltage terminal stations, 25 lower-voltage substations, and thousands of kilometres of transmission and distribution lines across the province.

Supply and demand

Supply refers to the amount of electricity generated to meet the needs of our customers. In Newfoundland and Labrador, there is a maximum amount of generation available. Demand refers to the electricity needed by our residential and business customers. Demand is forecasted in advance of each day to ensure supply is available to meet our customers’ electricity needs.

Customer demand is at its highest during peak usage times (7-10 a.m. and 4-8 p.m.), especially in winter months. As a general rule, when temperatures fall, demand goes up. If demand reaches the maximum supply available, we might have to ask our customers to conserve energy, which can help reduce or avoid rotating power outages.

How we meet our energy demand

Supply and demand have to be kept in balance. Each day, we only produce the amount of electricity that our customers actually need. Visit our Supply and Demand to view our Current Island System Generation and review the system supply and demand status reports filed daily to the Public Utilities Board.

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Safe and reliable operation of the system

The Newfoundland and Labrador System Operator (NLSO) is responsible for the safe and reliable operation of the bulk electric system in Newfoundland and Labrador, including the administration and provision of transmission on the NL Transmission System pursuant to the Multi-Party Pooling Agreement (MPPA).