- Coal
- Hydro
- Natural Gas
- Nuclear

Although solar and wind farms can provide power, they are usually add ons, and are the cheapest way to placate environmentalists constantly nipping at the heels of the generation industry.  

Coal here...

For you natural gas folks, you have my sympathies.

Coal.  The power plant's about 10-15 miles fom here.  It's on the FEMA nuclear strike target map.  

You obviously have no idea how the "grid" is wired do you? Our company was one of the few who off lined fast enough to limit damage to very isolated areas a few years back. Besides, if another area paid more for the juice in the free market electricity biz, they'd flip you faster then a burnt hotcake to make a extra buck.

Coal primarily, but Wolf Creek nuke is on the grid, too. Many small-to-medium towns are building their own combined-cycle plants to run off natural gas. Those plants are on the grid as well. The central plains are blessed with a fantastic transmission and distribution network. That's what happens when you have a lot of power-industry engineers in one city!

multiple hamsters in running wheels turning tiny generators connected in parallel charging 50,000 nickel metal hydride AAA batteries connected to a large pure sine inverter....

Coal.  Wyoming and Southern CO have some of the U.S. largest coal reserves.  

Hydro. Dad went solar a couple years ago , and its about to start paying for itself .

Nuclear

...but the secret ingredient is love, damnit.

... Primarily hydro, backed by gas. We have the largest nuclear generator in the country, an I understand we sell all the juice to California!

... If the lights go out, I can keep the essentials running at home generating my own electrons

I dont care,my family can eat and survive without it. It is just a luxory not a nesesity. I cant speel so bear with me.

Well......

Given the expansion of Independent System Operators (ISO's) in North America it doesn't mean that much of a difference anymore.

And...there are not that many separated "grids" so to speak, nor has there ever been except in terms of economics.  You have the Western Interconnect (west of the Rockies) the Eastern Interconnect, Texas (aka ERCOT) and then some penninsular areas like Florida which kinda acts as its own animal due to transmission constraints.

I really don't feel like going into details on how it all works, but the jist of it is that energy management across the country has been largely socialized in a privatized manner.  This means that the price of energy consumption across broad geographic areas is leveled out.  Areas of cheap generation will pay more, and areas of expensive generation will pay less.

To quote Full Metal Jacket....

"It's a big shit sandwhich, and we're all gonna have to take a bite."

Nuke and coal; got both.  

But I use a lot of power.

Coal and wind.  Plus the generator on my motorhome for backup.

Nuke power.

Nuke!