Electricity 101

The Canal plant supplies electricity to local communities, pollution to local environments, and greenhouse gases to the upper atmosphere.

Electricity arises from the flow of tiny, electrically charged particles such as electrons. It is the most important form of energy used by modern society—a fact that hits home during localized power failures and captures worldwide attention during large-scale outages.

Local consumers can buy power generated anywhere in New England or imported from New York, Quebec, or New Brunswick. The laws of physics dictate that most of the electricity that flows through transmission and distribution circuits and energizes local communities flows from the nearest power plants, including the Canal Generating Station in Sandwich.

Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on electricity. Regional demand also accounts for the release of millions of tons of emissions that degrade local air and water quality and contribute to global climate change. Efficiency programs are helping reduce these direct and indirect costs. So too are a growing number of cleaner and renewable energy systems and green power purchase options.

Click on the links below for more information on electricity’s role in the "Energy Present":

Policy & Market Context
	Massachusetts Electric Utility Restructuring Act
	New England Electricity Marketplace
	Market & Grid Operations: “Contract Path” & “Physical Path”
Power Supply & Delivery Infrastructure
	Supply Portfolio
		National
		New England
		Massachusetts
		Southeastern Massachusetts
Power Delivery Services
	Delivery Services & Charges
	NStar Delivery Service
	National Grid (Nantucket Electric) Delivery Service
Power Generation Services
	Market Status
	Basic Utility Service
	Competitive Options
		Supplier Lists
		Cheap Power
		Green Power
Electricity Indicators for Cape Cod: Consumption, Prices, Emissions & Renewable Energy Systems (Adobe Acrobat file) Use, Cost, and Efficiency Data Emissions Data Last updated 09.16.07

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Dirty Roof

Conventional asphalt shingles are
the cheapest roofing material around but, as is usually the case, there is a cost: They are manufactured using petroleum by-products and, once they reach the end of their useful life, they must be landfilled as construction debris or “downcycled” as road materials or in other low-value uses. Credit: Houston Advanced Research Center

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Current Vision

Green Roof

Thatching represents an attractive and sustainable roofing solution. This thatched roof, gracing a barn in Yarmouthport, transforms an invasive wetland plant (Phragmites sp.) into a useful, biodegradable shelter.

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