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The National Grid
Dear me that was close. I think you must have lost another life doing that Eddison! The electricity leaves the power station at a very high power called Voltage and is carried across the country on power lines. The power lines going through that tree connect my house to the National Grid. The National Grid is the name for the system of power lines that take electricity produced by power stations, all over the country to your house and mine.
Electricity arrives at your home from the national supply network (the National grid). Across the country, pylons and wooden poles carry electricity lines overland but in towns and cities, the cables are usually underground. You can find out a bit more about the National Grid in my book of wisdom.
This system of power lines, substations and transformers, which are enclosed, take the electricity from the power station to where it is needed. Substations and transformers alter the force (voltage) of the electricity. Some users, for example electric powered railways, need high voltage electricity to power the trains. Some factories also need high voltage electricity. Houses need lower voltage electricity (230 volts) but even the electricity supplied to houses is strong enough to severely hurt or kill you if you do not follow the safety rules.
Jigsaw Puzzle
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Next page: High voltage electricity
Power lines
Sometimes power lines are damaged. Branches or trees may fall on them in storms or heavy snow may bring the lines down. Broken power lines are very dangerous. The high voltage electricity they carry is so powerful that it can jump across quite large spaces
If you see a power line that is damaged stay a long way away from it and dial 999 to call the fire brigade and the electricity company to repair the line.
