Electricity

As one of the most affordable types of energy, electricity is used around the globe to power homes and businesses alike. MidAmerican serves more than 808,000 electric customers with safe, reliable service in Iowa, Illinois and South Dakota.

Electricity is generated at a generation facility, such as a wind farm, and transported across many miles via large high-voltage transmission lines. The smaller lines that transport electricity to your home and small businesses are called distribution lines. Distribution wires operate at a much lower voltage than transmission lines. The individual wires that connect your home or business to the electrical grid are called service drops. Learn more about your electric service connection system.

Electric Grid Structure

GENERATION

Energy generated by a variety of sources, including wind and solar is sent to a substation

TRANSMISSION

Energy received by the substation is transmitted across an extensive regional grid, and sent to local substations where it is transmitted to local lines

DISTRIBUTION

Energy transmitted from the regional grid is received by the local substation, where it is distributed to local lines running to homes, offices and other businesses for use

MidAmerican is part of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc., (MISO) a not-for-profit member-based organization that ensures reliable, least-cost delivery of electricity across all or parts of 15 states and one Canadian province. In cooperation with stakeholders, MISO manages approximately 65,000 miles of high-voltage transmission and 200,000 megawatts of power-generating resources across its footprint. Learn about being part of an interconnected energy market.