Factorio Forums

Add logistics to the power network. For example have a power pole automatically contain how many watts are produced, used and how much energy is stored in accumulators. Have (smart) accumulators which can provide their charge, independent from the whole grid's stored charge as a signal.
Have smart power poles/switching stations, which can allow power flowing through them based on a signal condition.
Have "transformers", for lack of a better term, which can switch power context from primary(like laser turrets), secondary(like production) and tertiary (like accumulator charging) power usage to any of the others (like solar panels, steam engines and accumulator discharge respectively). Those would allow to prioritize specific parts of power production/consumption over others. For example to keep the coal miners going at full speed over running assembly machines to run the steam engines in case of low power.
If the in and output are in the same grid it would display an error, similar to an unconnected steam engine.
Possibly combine the switch and transformer into one device.

At a side note: Electric trains would be awesome.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think with 0.13 we will have the ability to get some of that information - for example the state of accumulator filling. JFYI

It's not just information, but also controlling the power flow.

FalcoGer wrote:It's not just information, but also controlling the power flow.

There is no flow of power. All solar panels are one and the grid is the same in all places. Amen.

that is exactly why it would be useful. there is no flow of power because there is no way to control power.
Being able to context switch or turn parts of the factory on or off based on wire signals, or control factories based on electricity available would bring more complexity into the game.
Feeding electricity to inserters that put fuel into the boilers first before any other inserters in the factory. Letting tanks of preheated water dump into steam engines when accumulators run empty, using it as a backup to them without some convoluted setup containing isolated grids that share accumulators or inserters running low on power while others don't, not able to pick up something which is then fed into a boiler. Turn off your mining outposts when the chests by the trainstops are full to save on idle power and pollution, and many more.
It's just another way to control your factory based on resources available. First we had only solids. Then we had liquids. Why not power, too? In all cases it was always possible to go around the wire system with convoluted setups. It just makes it easier to go nuts even more.

I don't think it'd be too hard to be implemented anyway, especially since the load and production are already displayed in the power statistics. You just have to export those numbers into the wire system. As for control structures, I don't think It'd be that hard either to just make a power switch that uses whatever the output is when it's on, or nothing when it's off. I think the game would only benefit from such small addition.

@Falco : This is actually planned, hopefully for 0.13 :

Power switch (can be controlled manually, using the circuit network or using the logistic network).

Source : https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-123