⚡ Power Grid — Latrobe Valley, Victoria, Australia

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⚡ Power Grid Simulator — Help

🎯 Objective

Build and manage a power grid to supply electricity to consumers. Earn $1 per MW delivered each tick. Keep the grid stable, avoid fines, and don't let the frequency collapse.

🔧 Removing Tiles

Right-click any tile to remove it. Generators and transmission infrastructure (poles, substations, transformers) return 50% of their purchase cost to your budget. Consumer tiles give no refund.

🔴 HV Network Rules

High Voltage connects generators to the distribution network. All HV components must be wired together (max wire span: 3 tiles).

Component	Max Connections	Connects To
Coal / Solar / Wind / Hydro	—	Auto-connects to adjacent HV Terminal (no wire needed)
HV Terminal	4	Generators (auto), HV Pylon, Substation, Data Centre (auto if adjacent)
HV Pylon	2	HV Terminal, other HV Pylons, Substation, Data Centre
Substation	4 HV + 4 LV	HV network (HV side), MV network (LV side)
Data Centre	2	HV Terminal (auto if adjacent), HV Pylon, Substation

⚠ HV wire capacity: 60 MW. HV Terminal capacity: 300 MW. Overloaded >150% for 1+ ticks = 20% chance of line fault ($500 fine).

🔵 MV Network Rules

Low Voltage distributes power from substations to consumers. Max MV run: 30 cells from a substation.

Component	Max Connections	Connects To
MV Pole	2	Substation, MV Pole, MV2, MV Fuse, TX Pole
MV2 Pole	4	Substation, MV Pole, MV2, MV Fuse, TX Pole
MV Fuse	2	Substation, MV Pole, MV2, MV Fuse, TX Pole. Right-click to toggle phases ON/OFF.
TX Pole	4	MV network + auto-connects to adjacent Houses, Small Factories, Commercial
TX Link	2	TX Pole (auto-wired on placement), consumers
House / S.Factory / Commercial	—	Auto-connects to adjacent TX Pole or TX Link
Large Factory	2	Requires explicit wire to MV Pole, MV2, or Substation

⚠ MV wire capacity: 10 MW. Substation MV throughput: 30 MW.

🗼 EHV Network (220 kV)

The Extra High Voltage (EHV) network operates at 220 kV and is used for bulk power transmission over long distances. EHV components are larger and more powerful than the standard HV network.

Component	Size	Cost	Details
🗼 EHV Tower	2×2 cells	$800	220 kV lattice tower, 600 MW wire capacity, 5-cell span
⚡ EHV Terminal	2×2 cells	$2,000	Links EHV to HV network. Powers adjacent HV Terminals automatically

Wiring rules: EHV Towers connect to other EHV Towers and EHV Terminals only. Maximum wire span is 5 cells. Each EHV wire carries up to 600 MW. EHV wires are immune to lightning strikes.

Connecting to HV: Place an EHV Terminal adjacent to one or more HV Terminals. The HV Terminals are automatically energised and power cascades through the connected HV network (pylons, substations).

EHV Interconnect (edge terminals): An EHV Terminal placed at the edge of the map can be configured as an interconnect to another grid. Click it with the ℹ Info tool to set one of three modes:

Mode 1 — Normal	Standard pass-through only, no special behaviour
Mode 2 — Import	Acts as a generator, adding 0–600 MW to your grid supply
Mode 3 — Export	Acts as a consumer, sending 0–600 MW out of your grid

⚠ EHV components occupy 2×2 cells. Ensure a clear 2×2 area before placing. Erasing any cell of a 2×2 tile removes the entire structure and all connected wires.

🎨 Wire Colours

	Blue — Normal (<75% capacity)
	Amber — High load (75–90%)
	Orange — Very high load (90–100%)
	Red — Overloaded (≥100%) — risk of line fault
	Dashed grey — Broken wire (needs repair)

📏 Wire Distances

Wire Type	Max Span
HV wires (pylon to pylon)	3 tiles
MV wires (pole to pole)	2 tiles
MV network from substation	30 tiles max distance

⚡ Supply vs Demand & Frequency

Supply = total MW from all energised generators. Demand = total MW consumed by all connected consumers.

Balance = Supply − Demand. Positive = surplus (healthy). Negative = deficit (dangerous).

Grid Frequency starts at 50 Hz. When demand exceeds supply, frequency drops by 1 Hz per 1% excess load. For example, 10% overload = 49.0 Hz.

Frequency Deficit: every tick below 50 Hz accumulates a deficit. When the grid returns to balance (50 Hz), it recovers up to 3 Hz per tick until the deficit is repaid. The displayed frequency reflects this recovery period.

⚠ If frequency drops below 20 Hz — Game Over!

🌤️ Weather Events

Event	Icon	Effect
Sunny	☀️	No change
Rainy	🌧️	Solar output −75%, Hydro output +50%
Snow	❄️	All consumer demand +15% (Data Centres unchanged)
Heat Wave	🌡️	All consumer demand +20% including Data Centres
Holidays	✈️	Factory & Small Factory demand −75%, Data Centre demand −50%
Windy	💨	Wind generator output +50%
Lightning Storm	⚡	All consumer demand +5%. 5% chance a random wire is struck (needs repair, no fine)

💰 Fines & Safety

Event	Fine	Safety Incident?
Line fault (wire overloaded >150% for 1+ ticks)	$500	✓ Yes
Consumer without supply (3-tick grace for existing, 8-tick for new)	$50	No
Substation explosion	$500	✓ Yes
Lightning wire damage	None	No

Repair broken wires: enter Wire mode and right-click the endpoint of the broken wire (shown as red dashes).

Repair exploded substation: click it in any mode. Cost = $800 (same as new).

☠️ Game Over Conditions

Grid Frequency < 20 Hz	Frequency collapse — insufficient supply
Budget < −$5,000	Financial ruin
Safety Incidents > 10	Too many line faults / explosions

Note: Game over conditions only apply once at least one generator is connected.

🔧 Modes

🔌 Wire	Click two poles to connect them. Right-click an endpoint to remove or repair wires.
⬆ Upgrade	Click an MV Pole to upgrade to TX/LV2/Fuse. Auto-disables after one upgrade.
ℹ Info	Click a wire, substation, consumer, or generator to see load/demand details.

⌨️ Keyboard

W/A/S/D or arrow keys — scroll the map.

C	Conductor (Wire tool)
I	Info tool
U	Upgrade tool