You know electricity flows through wires to light your lamps and power your stereo, computer and every other appliance in the house, but where does it come from?

Electricity is created when mechanical energy or moving energy is turned into electrical energy. To create mechanical energy companies use a variety of processes depending on what resources are most available to them. For example, in places where there is a lot of fast running water, companies generate electricity by harnessing the energy of the moving water in hydroelectricity dams. If you live in a windy setting, you may see wind mills producing electricity. In places where there is lots of coal, natural gas or oil in the ground, companies burn the fuel to make steam, which rotates a turbine. A nuclear reaction is another way to make the steam to turn the turbine.

Here in Alberta, the most common way to generate electricity is by using coal and natural gas in what is called a thermal power plant. At a thermal power plant coal or natural gas are burned to apply heat to a boiler which is filled with water. A boiler is like a kettle on a stove. The steam from the boiling water is piped to a turbine through thick pipes. The turbine is connected to what is called a generator by another pipe or shaft. Inside the generator is a giant magnet inside a ring wrapped with long wire. When the turbine rotates due to the steam, the magnet inside the generator also turns and an electric current is produced in the wire.

The electricity then flows through transmission wires that link the power plants to your home, school and businesses.