What is energy?

Energy is the ability to do work. When you walk to a friend’s house, or you do your homework, you are using energy.

Energy also is in everything:

• We use energy to run our cars.
• In school, the lights use energy to help you see in your classroom.
• At home, your parents use energy to cook dinner.
• The list goes on and on.

San Diego Gas & Electric brings electricity and natural gas to your home and school so you can use equipment and products that make our lives better.

A better way to think about this is to picture the shock you get when you drag your feet on the carpet or touch someone. That shock comes from these tiny atomic particles.

Getting electricity to homes, schools or businesses
The first step is that power plants make lots of electricity. Most of the time, they do this by using steam or water to move big fan-like blades in a turbine to then turn a shaft connected to a generator.

The generator has magnets and wires in it that spin very close to one another. The magnets and wires produce a force called "electromotive force." This is the process of exciting electrons to jump from atom to atom. "Electron jumping" is basically what we call electricity.

Then the electricity gets sent a long way through big power lines that eventually go to homes, schools and businesses.

What is natural gas?

Natural gas comes from old plant and animal matter that has been in the ground for millions of years. This includes all sorts of animals that were in the sea, giant trees and dinosaurs. Natural gas is considered a fossil fuel because it comes from the remains that formed on the fossils we find today.

How we use natural gas

You might not know that we all use natural gas in many different ways. They include:

• Cooking;
• Drying your clothes;
• Warming your house;
• Making the water in your house hot for baths and washing clothes.

There are even cars that run on natural gas. To learn more about natural gas, see our safety section.