For a deeper understanding of the grid—what it is, how it got that way, and where it is going—I highly recommend this book: The Grid by Gretchen Bakke. Reader Mark Parrish recommended it to me in response to one of my posts, and I'm so glad he did. Did you know that the very first centralised electrical power generating station was located at Niagra Falls, and it was "decommissioned" (in the 1950s, if I recall correctly) by way of it fell off the cliff!