June 06, 2011 – At the invitation of the Canadian Electricity Association (CEA), Electrical Business attended an exclusive media tour of the Portlands Energy Centre (PEC) in Toronto, which is capable of generating 550 MW from its two natural gas-fired generators and one steam generator.

In this video, Curtis Mahoney, PEC general manager, takes us on a behind-the-scenes tour, where we see control packs, the control centre, battery rooms, switchgear and more. We learn how a power generator needs electricity to start generating power (huh?), and how a generator can be used as a motor to get generation going, then switch back to being a generator (wow), and then some. Special thanks to CEA for the invite!