Electric power is the rate at which electric energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt.

Electric energy is transmitted with overhead lines on pylons like these in Brisbane, Australia. For underground transmission see high voltage cables. When electric current flows in a circuit, it can transfer energy to do mechanical or thermodynamic work. Devices convert electrical energy into many useful forms, such as heat (electric heaters), light (light bulbs), motion (electric motors), sound (loudspeaker), information technological processes (computers), or even chemical changes. Electricity can be produced mechanically by generation, or chemically, or by direct conversion from light in photovoltaic cells, also it can be stored chemically in batteries.
What is reactive power:

Power factor is defined as the ratio of real power to apparent power. This definition is often mathematically represented as kW/kVA, where the numerator is the active (real) power and the denominator is the (active+ reactive) or apparent power. Though the definition is very simple, the concept of reactive power is vague or confusing even to many of those who are technically knowledgeable.

Explanation for reactive power says that in an alternating current system, when the voltage and current go up and down at the same time, only real power is transmitted and when there is a time shift between voltage and current both active and reactive power are transmitted. But, when the average in time is calculated, the average active power exists causing a net flow of energy from one point to another, whereas average

reactive power is zero, irrespective of the network or state of the system. In the case of reactive power, the amount of energy flowing in one direction is equal to the amount of energy flowing in the opposite direction (or different parts -capacitors, inductors, etc- of a network, exchange the reactive power). That means reactive power is neither produced nor consumed.

Active Power the average value over time of the instantaneous power of alternating current. The active power P depends on the acting values of the voltage V and the strength of the current I and on the cosine , where is the angle of phase displacement between V and I. In an electric circuit of a single-phase alternating current (sinoid), P = VI cos (for a three-phase current, P = VI cos ). The effective value can also be expressed through the strength of the current, the voltage and the active component resistance of the circuit r or its conductivity g according to the formula P = I2 x r = V2 x g. In any electric circuit of sinoidal or nonsinoidal current, the active power of the entire circuit is equal to the sum of the active power of the individual sections of the circuit. The relation between the active power and the full power S is expressed in the equation P = S cos . The unit of measurement of active power is the watt.