Discover: How Much Does My Electricity Cost?


It would be nice if electricity was free, but that is not the case! Electricity costs money to make, so the companies that make electricity must charge people who use it. Although you do not go to a store to buy electricity for your home, how does the system of buying electricity work?

Most homes have an electric meter. This meter keeps track of how many kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electric energy the home uses. The kilowatt-hour is a unit of electric energy.
The journey of electricity starts at a power plant. A power plant is where electricity is made. Power lines (wires) from the power plant carry the electricity to substations in cities, towns, and villages – anyplace where electricity is needed. Substations send the electricity to where it is needed, such as homes.

When the electricity gets to your home, it goes through an electric meter. An electric meter keeps track of how much electricity is used by the home.

Every month, the electricity company reads your electric meter to find how much electricity you used that month. The more you use, the more you have to pay.


An electrical substation turns high voltages from power plants into lower voltages that are more suitable for homes. You should never approach a substation; touching anything in a substation could give you a dangerous shock.

Video

Watch Reading Electric Meter.

New electric meters have digital readouts, but many still use dials. Even if your electric meter has dials, it is still very easy to read.


How much did my electricity cost this month?

Resources

Notebook

Click here to download the instructions for this activity. Save to your Electricity Notebook.