Load following

Load following is the adjustment of a power plant’s electrical output to track changes in electricity demand over time. It operates between steady baseload generation and rapid frequency regulation.

Automatic generation control: A control system that adjusts generator output to help balance electricity supply and demand and maintain scheduled interchanges. Grid operators use it to send output adjustments to generators providing load-following service.
Combined-cycle power plant: A power plant that generates electricity using both a gas turbine and a steam turbine, recovering heat from the gas turbine exhaust. Combined-cycle plants can provide flexible generation, though their response depends on configuration and operating state.
Baseload power: The minimum level of electricity demand over a period, or generation scheduled to supply that relatively steady demand. Baseload operation prioritizes steady output, unlike the changing output required for load following.
Thermal cycling: Repeated heating and cooling of power-plant components as units start, stop, or change output. Frequent load changes can increase thermal cycling and equipment stress.
Ramp rate: The rate at which a power plant or generator can increase or decrease its electrical output. Ramp rate limits how quickly a plant can follow changing demand.
Hydroelectricity: Electricity generated by converting the energy of moving or falling water into mechanical power and then electricity. Reservoir hydropower can often change output quickly to follow demand.
Frequency regulation: Fast, continuous adjustments to generation or demand that keep grid frequency near its nominal value. Regulation corrects short-term imbalances, while load following tracks broader demand changes.
Combined heat and power: The simultaneous production of electricity and useful heat from the same energy source. Heat demand can constrain how freely a combined heat and power plant follows electricity demand.
Dispatchable generation: Electricity generation whose output can be deliberately adjusted by operators or control systems. Load following is one way dispatchable generators respond to grid needs.
Battery energy storage system: A system that stores electrical energy in batteries and later returns it to the grid or a local load. Batteries can follow short-term net-load changes without ramping a thermal turbine.

Linked from 9 pages