The inclusion of a generating station's output onto the electric grid by an authorized scheduling utility or grid operator to manage demand and provide a reliable supply of energy.

Some plants (for example, coal fired or nuclear power plants) are expensive to ramp up or close down and, therefore, operate continuously. The electricity produced by these plants is usually delivered to the grid and is used to meet base load demand. Plants that cannot operate continuously because they rely on an intermittent resource (for example, wind power plants or a solar plant that does not have storage capability) are dispatched as needed to meet peak load demand.