Because electricity cannot be stored, it takes an around-the-clock effort to make sure you have all of the power you need at any time of the day or night. Our power plants operate 24 hours a day, generating thousands of megawatts of electricity that are delivered to you at the speed of light -- 186,000 miles per second.

Electricity from Coal

The first step in turning coal into kilowatts is to grind the coal into a fine powder using equipment known as a "pulverizer." This powder is then blown into a furnace area inside the boiler, where it burns much like a gas.

The Boiler

The boiler, which can be as tall as a 23-story building, is made up of steel tubing through which we constantly circulate purified water. The intense heat of the furnace boils the water, turning it to steam. The steam is then piped at high pressures to the turbine.

The Turbine and Generator

When the steam is blown into the turbine, it spins giant, fan-like blades connected to a shaft. The revolving shaft turns a generator, where magnets spinning inside a coil of wire produce electricity.

Transmission and Distribution

From the generator, electricity travels to a transformer, where its force ("voltage") is increased to hundreds of thousands of volts, depending on far it must travel and how much must be delivered. From the transformer, the electricity goes to a switchyard at the station, where it is sent out over high-voltage lines to substations throughout our service area.

At the substations, transformers are used to decrease voltage for distribution through electric lines that run to smaller transformers near your home or business. The voltage is then reduced one final time so it can be used to run electric appliances.

Reliability

To insure that you have the electricity you want, Allegheny is a member of the East Central Area Reliability Council, one of nine such regional councils in the United States. As a member of ECAR, our power plants are linked to a network of power lines connected to other generating stations in the country. If one power plant cannot supply electricity, then it can be instantly supplied by other plants in the network.

Environmental Controls

We've gone to great expense to minimize our power stations' impact on the environment. Each of our power stations is in strict compliance with all federal, state, and local environmental regulations. For more environmental information, click here.