Power

Power stations
The electricity we use in our homes, shops, schools and factories is made in power stations.
There are different types of power stations, such as coal burning power stations, oilburning power stations, hydroelectric power stations, solar power stations and atomic or nuclear power stations.
In a hydroelectric power station, like the one in Paute in Ecuador, the water rotatesthe turbines and the turbines turn the generators that make electricity. In a thermal power station, like the one in Esmeraldas, gas is burned. The gas heats water and turns it into steam. The steamrotates the turbines. Nuclear power stations have a nuclear reactor which heats the water, but in Ecuador, there are no nuclear power stations.
From power stations the electricity travels along thickwires, called power cables. These cables are carried by metal towers called pylons. Near towns and cities the cables are then divided into thinner power cables and the power of the electricity isreduced. The thinner cables run along streets and are supported by concrete or wooden electricity posts. In some places, for example in Cuenca, the cables are inside special covers, and they are buriedunder the streets.
Finally, thin wires go into each house through a small box, called a meter. This measures how much electricity you use. Then they connect to the electrical circuit of the house.Traducción
Las centrales eléctricas
La electricidad que usamos en nuestras casas, tiendas, escuelas y fábricas se realiza en las centrales eléctricas.
Hay diferentes tipos de centrales, tales comoestaciones energéticas que queman carbón, fuel-oíl centrales eléctricas, centrales hidroeléctricas, centrales solares y plantas de energía atómica o nuclear.
En una central hidroeléctrica, como lade Paute, en Ecuador, el agua hace girar las turbinas y las turbinas a su vez los generadores que producen electricidad. En una central térmica, como el de Esmeraldas, el gas se quema. El gas calienta...