The electrical grid is a term used for the entire electricity network that includes electricity generation (power plants, wind farms, solar fields), electric power transmission (large wires spanning the country), and electricity distribution (small wires you see on your street).

Once called the most important engineering development in the 20th century, today's grid is a nationwide 164,000-mile, highly-integrated network of transmission lines and control facilities, interconnecting over 750,000 megawatts (MW) of electrical generation to millions of customers in all regions of the country in approximately 3000 utilities.