Electricity: how much is 1MW?

Self-tutoring about electricity generation: the tutor describes the rate of 1MW: 1MegaWatt.

Electricity consumption is typically measured in kWh (kiloWattxhours). A Watt is a rate of energy use: 1J/s. A kiloWatt is 1000J/s.

In BC the average household consumption, per month, is about 900kWh. If we imagine the rate as r, in kW, then

rxh=900kWh

Assuming a 30 day month, there are 30×24=720 hours in a month.

rx720h=900kWh

Dividing both sides by 720h we get

r=900/720=1.25kW.

1MW=1000kW

Dividing 1000kW by 1.25kW we get 800. So, 1MW can supply about 800 homes with electricity at BC’s consumption rate.

Source: