National Grid Interactive Simulator

Choose a generation method, follow electricity through the National Grid, and click each tile to see how voltage changes from stage to stage.

Choose the power station

The National Grid can be supplied by different energy resources. Each has a different energy transfer pathway plus advantages and disadvantages.

Fossil fuel power station

Advantages

    Disadvantages

      Electricity journey through the National Grid

      Click or tap a tile. The key idea is that voltage is stepped up for transmission, then stepped down before homes.

      Generator output
      25 kV
      Transmission voltage
      400 kV
      Local distribution
      11 kV
      Homes
      230 V

      Why high voltage?

      For a fixed power demand, increasing voltage reduces current because P = IV. Lower current means less heating in the transmission cables because P lost = I²R.

      400 kV
      400 MW
      8 Ω