Official Factorio Wiki, Electric system

Cite as: Official Factorio Wiki, Electric system
Original: https://wiki.factorio.com/Electric_system
sha256: 0a33ba790270616df44b667861a1041ca83770bde64b012742997899d7eee65c
Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20261005195756/https://wiki.factorio.com/Electric_system
Accessed: 2026-10-26
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 (Official Factorio Wiki); quoted briefly.
Credit: Official Factorio Wiki contributors, "Electric system"; read in the 5 October 2026 capture.
Notes: How Factorio's electric networks form and what a network short of power does to its machines.

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IndustrialCraft²'s cables are rated: each tier takes packets up to one size, melts under a larger one, and loses energy with distance, though the number of packets is unlimited. For Factorio's four poles, the Factorio wiki names two properties, the area a pole powers and how far its wires reach, and when a Factorio network has too little power, every machine on it slows by the same proportion.	`"Power poles" and "Energy consumption"`	Wiki
The Factorio wiki's Electric system page (captured October 2026) says a building is on an electric network if one of its tiles lies in a pole's coverage area, and that poles placed close enough connect by themselves. When generation falls short, the electricity is spread evenly over the network's machines by their demand, and all of them slow by the same proportion. Generators meet demand in order: solar panels first, then steam engines and turbines, and accumulators last, which charge only from power left over once all demand is met.	`"Connection""Energy consumption""Network priorities"`	Wiki