# Power grid

> Canonical source: [Power grid](https://satisfactorybase.com/guides/power-grid)
> Language: en

Version check pending: The hand-maintained generator fuel/water table and storage/trip behavior require current-version validation.

Generators with fuel and water rates, power lines and poles, the fuse/trip, Power Storage, Priority Power Switches and planning rules of thumb.


## The grid

- A grid consists of all producers and consumers connected through Power Lines, Power Poles, Power Towers, Wall Outlets, Train Stations and Railways. Lines are lossless and have no capacity limit.
- Power Pole Mk.1 / Mk.2 / Mk.3: 4 / 7 / 10 connections; line length between poles max. 100 m; Power Tower to Power Tower 300 m. Poles upgrade in place.
- MW = MJ/s. A building's consumption applies at 100 % clock while producing; idle production buildings draw 0.1 MW (even when underclocked below 0.1 MW).
- Buildings never run “slower” when under-supplied – the grid trips instead.

## Generators

| Generator | MW (100 %) | Fuel | Water (m³/min) | Scaling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| :icon[Desc_GeneratorBiomass_Automated_C] Biomass Burner | 30 | [Leaves](/wiki/items/leaves) / [Wood](/wiki/items/wood) / [Mycelia](/wiki/items/mycelia) / [Biomass](/wiki/items/biomass) / [Solid Biofuel](/wiki/items/solid-biofuel) / [Packaged Liquid Biofuel](/wiki/items/packaged-liquid-biofuel) | – | linear, demand-driven (cannot charge batteries) |
| :icon[Desc_GeneratorCoal_C] Coal-Powered Generator | 75 | [Coal](/wiki/items/coal) 15/min, [Compacted Coal](/wiki/items/compacted-coal) 7.14/min, [Petroleum Coke](/wiki/items/petroleum-coke) 25/min | 45 | linear |
| :icon[Desc_GeneratorFuel_C] Fuel-Powered Generator | 250 | [Fuel](/wiki/items/fuel) 20, [Liquid Biofuel](/wiki/items/liquid-biofuel) 20, [Turbofuel](/wiki/items/turbofuel) 7.5, [Rocket Fuel](/wiki/items/rocket-fuel) 4.17, [Ionized Fuel](/wiki/items/ionized-fuel) 3 (m³/min) | – | linear |
| :icon[Desc_GeneratorGeoThermal_C] Geothermal Generator | 100 / 200 / 400 Ø (impure / normal / pure geyser), fluctuating 50–600 | – | – | no overclock |
| :icon[Desc_GeneratorNuclear_C] Nuclear Power Plant | 2 500 | [Uranium Fuel Rod](/wiki/items/uranium-fuel-rod) 0.2/min, [Plutonium Fuel Rod](/wiki/items/plutonium-fuel-rod) 0.1/min, [Ficsonium Fuel Rod](/wiki/items/ficsonium-fuel-rod) 1/min | 240 | linear |
| :icon[Desc_AlienPowerBuilding_C] Alien Power Augmenter | +500 and +10 % (or +30 % with 5 Alien Power Matrix/min) on total generation | [Alien Power Matrix](/wiki/items/alien-power-matrix) (optional) | – | max. 10 |

Fuel per minute = `MW × 60 / MJ`. Generators always produce at their set clock (except the Biomass Burner) – surplus goes into Power Storage or is lost; they do not throttle. Generators run only with a Power Line attached (a consumer is not necessary). Overclocking generators is linear – see [Overclocking](/guides/overclocking#generators).

## Power Storage (batteries)

- 100 MWh per unit; charging max. 100 MW per unit (surplus only); discharging unlimited – the shortfall is covered exactly.
- Charging from empty takes ≥ 1 h. Colours: blue charging, orange discharging, grey full/empty. 2 connections (daisy-chain); charges only from non-biomass surplus.
- A warning (like the trip sound) plays when a storage drops below 80 % while discharging. If the storage is empty and generation still too low, the fuse trips.
- Uses: buffer peak loads (Particle Accelerator, Quantum Encoder, portals, accelerating trains); night operation without extra generators. Geothermal buffer: 0.5 / 1 / 2 Power Storages per impure / normal / pure generator to guarantee the average.

## Fuse and trip

- When consumption exceeds generation (and storages are empty) the grid **trips**: all producers and consumers stop; the sound is audible map-wide.
- Reset at the lever of a Power Pole or generator. Reduce the load first (disconnect a line, Priority Switches, pause consumers) – otherwise it trips again immediately.
- The Hoverpack draws 100 MW and does not appear in the statistics: take it off before resetting a small grid.
- If all producers are disconnected by a switch, consumers just turn off (no trip). Connecting a tripped grid to an intact one with a Power Switch trips both.

## Priority Power Switch

- 8 priority groups plus “Undefined”; on impending overload groups are switched off automatically: Undefined first, then group 8, 7, … group 1 last. Switches are remote-controllable from any other Priority Switch.
- Use it to sacrifice non-critical consumers (sink lines, lighting) before the power-plant supply (Water Extractors!) fails.
- Unlock: MAM Caterium – Priority Power Switch (25 High-Speed Connector, 500 Quickwire). Plain Power Switch: MAM Caterium – Power Switch (100 Steel Beam, 50 AI Limiter).

## Lines, poles, towers

| Element | Connections | Range | Cost / unlock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power Line | lossless, unlimited power; buildings 1 connection (2 with MAM Caterium – Upgraded Power Connectors since 1.2 → daisy-chain building to building); Power Storage and lights 2 | 100 m pole to pole | 1 Wire per line; zipline-capable (even unpowered) |
| Power Pole Mk.1 / Mk.2 / Mk.3 | 4 / 7 / 10 | 100 m | Tier 0 / MAM Caterium (Mk.2, Mk.3); in-place upgrade; can be placed on a line between two poles |
| Wall Outlet Mk.1/2/3 (Shop 3/4/5 Coupons) | 4 / 7 / 10 (Double: per side, internally connected) | 100 m | 4 Wire + 1 Iron Rod / 8 Quickwire + 2 Iron Rod / 3 High-Speed Connector + 3 Steel Pipe |
| Power Tower / Power Tower Platform | 3 tower connections on top (300 m, 12 Wire per line), 4 pole connections below | 300 m | Tier 4 – Expanded Power Infrastructure |
| Railway / Train Station | conduct power (also for the Hoverpack) | – | crossings without a junction do not conduct |

## Power Shards

Blue Power Slug → 1 shard, Yellow → 2, Purple → 5 (Constructor, after the MAM Power Slugs research). 596/389/257 slugs on the map → max. 2 650 shards (5 300 with a Somersloop in the Constructor). Synthetic Power Shard (Quantum Encoder): 2 Time Crystal + 2 Dark Matter Crystal + 12 Quartz Crystal + 12 m³ Excited Photonic Matter → 1 shard per 12 s (5/min), 0–2 000 MW. Other uses: Ionized Fuel (1 shard per 24 s = 2.5/min per Refinery), Alien Power Matrix research (100), AWESOME Shop (Synthetic Power Shard for 10 Coupons). See [Power Slugs](/wiki/collectibles/power-slugs).

## Planning rules of thumb

| Goal | Setup |
|---|---|
| 600 MW coal | 8 Coal Generators + 3 Water Extractors (360 m³/min = 8 × 45); Coal 120/min (1 Miner Mk.2 normal or Mk.1 pure) |
| 1 Pipeline Mk.1 of water | 300 m³/min = 2.5 Water Extractors → supplies 6.67 Coal Generators; practically 6 generators per Mk.1 pipe |
| 1 Refinery “Fuel” (40 m³/min) | 2 Fuel Generators (20 m³/min each) = 500 MW; by-product 30 Polymer Resin/min |
| 1 Nuclear Power Plant | 240 m³/min Water = 2 Water Extractors; 0.2 Uranium Fuel Rod/min; 10 Uranium Waste/min |
| Turbofuel | 1 Fuel Generator needs 7.5 m³/min; the standard Turbofuel recipe (Refinery, 6 Fuel + 4 Compacted Coal → 5 Turbofuel per 16 s = 18.75/min) supplies 2.5 generators |
| Geothermal | Ø 7 100 MW over all 31 geysers; output fluctuates – use Power Storage as a buffer |

The planner's summary strip shows the average MW of a factory and the *Lowest power* optimisation minimises it – see [Using SatisfactoryBase](/guides/using-satisfactorybase).


- [Overclocking](/guides/overclocking)

- [Alien Power Augmenter](/guides/somersloop-mercer)

- [Pipes & water](/guides/belts-pipes)

- [Geysers & resource wells](/guides/resource-nodes)