Hello, mayors of the most famous cities among the games! Of course, we are talking about Cities: Skylines, a mega-popular gaming franchise that since 2015 has not stopped bringing together all lovers of building and running cities. Cities: Skylines is a simulation game in which it is necessary to build a city from the ground up and provide its citizens with a quality life.
However, this game also requires managerial skills because every true mayor needs to know how to fulfill the wishes of his citizens while maintaining a budget and that all segments of the city are satisfied.
Like any “real city,” this imaginary city must have everything that people need to maintain a standard of living. These are residential areas, industrial areas, and commercial areas where most of city life occurs.
In addition, the city must be connected by various forms of transport, and at the same time, care must be taken to preserve the environment and the health of citizens. This article will talk about another important component that players should pay attention to when building city infrastructure. We are talking about power in Cities: Skylines. Let’s get started.
Also Read: How to Level Up Industry in Cities: Skylines?
Power in Cities: Skylines – Everything You Need to Know
Today it is almost impossible for us to imagine life without electricity. Electricity serves us for everything, from powering the device to lighting the room. So it must be in your city, every building you build must have a supply of electricity. Also, citizens in their homes must be constantly supplied with electricity; otherwise, they will leave their homes. Who can blame them?
As the mayor of your city, you need to provide enough power to cover every part of your city and connect it to the power grid. Of course, it’s up to you how you will generate power in your city.
Cities: Skylines offers several options from which you can choose the one that seems most cost-effective. Of course, each option comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, solar production depends on solar energy, which means that if the weather is cloudy and without the sun, you will have difficulty supplying the city with power.
Power based on coal and oil creates noise pollution and heavy rand, and building the dam affects the water level and is a very expensive choice. Building the dam as a power source is the riskiest of all. Apart from being the most expensive option, it is also the most unreliable. If it is a higher dam, there may be an overflow of water and flooding of the city. The amount of power that the dam can distribute depends on the potential energy above and below the dam—the greater this difference, the more power output.
Before you start building the dam, we advise you to save your game so that in case something goes wrong, you can restore your game before building the dam. If you choose wind power, it also depends on the weather and produces a significant amount of noise pollution. If you like the option with wind power, choose off-shore wind power because it is much more efficient than land-based wind power.
Your city can be powered with power using garbage, too. You can build the Incinerator with a high level of ground pollution and a low amount of energy. Still, in order for it to be successful, it is important to manage the garbage effectively. Its primary purpose is to destroy garbage and is not very recommended as a power source.
One of the more modern power sources is based on nuclear energy. Always a consistent amount of power will power the city regardless of location. If you build a Fusion Power Plant, you can save vast amounts of money in the city budget as the power budget will be reduced by 50% by building this source.
This power station can be extinguished by fire or lack of water supply, so it is good to build a fire station and water pump or water tower near them to prevent this disaster. Still, also in case of shutting down this power source, the city will be less affected by lack of power.
You can choose from four types of power plants. These are hydroelectric, resource-based, wind, and others (including solar, nuclear or geothermal, etc.).
| Building | Type | Cost | Upkeep | Power generation | Pollution | Noise pollution | Unlock |
 Power line | Electricity | ₡20 | ₡0.48/week | Distributes electricity through greater distances | 0 | 0 | Start* |
 Wind turbine | Electricity | ₡6000 | ₡80/week | 0-8 MW | 0 | 75 | Start* |
 Advanced wind turbine | Electricity | ₡12,000 | ₡200/week | 0-20 MW | 0 | 75 | Boom Town |
 Coal power plant | Electricity | ₡19,000 | ₡560/week | 40 MW | 50 | 50 | Start* |
 Oil power plant | Electricity | ₡50,000 | ₡1920/week | 120 MW | 35 | 50 | Busy Town |
 Hydro power plant | Electricity | ₡2000/cell | ₡3200/week | 0-1600 MW | 0 | 50 | Small City |
 Solar power plant | Electricity | ₡80,000 | ₡1200/week | 160 MW (day) 0 MW (night) | 0 | 25 | Grand City |
 Nuclear power plant | Electricity | ₡200,000 | ₡8000/week | 640 MW | 0 | 50 | Colossal City |
 Incineration plant | Garbage | ₡30,000 | ₡1,440/week | 12 MW | 100 | 50 | Big Town |
 Fusion Power Plant | Monument | ₡1,000,000 | ₡8,000/week | 16,000 MW | 0 | 75 | Megalopolis(Also required unique buildings) |
There is a power grid around the buildings, and you can see it as a blue area around the building in Electricity city service, or if you choose info view. Electricity can connect buildings at short distances, and if you want to connect certain locations that are at a greater distance you will need to build wind turbines or use power lines so that electricity can supply your desired locations.
Also Read: How To Make Elevated Roads in Cities: Skylines
How to Connect Power?
Select the Electricity Panel located in City Services and there you will find power lines that you can then place within the power grids and connect them.
If you are in doubt between wind turbines and power lines, you must know that power lines can be destroyed if a storm strikes and they are struck by lightning. Wind turbines, on the other hand, have a very big grid around them and cannot be destroyed by a storm. You can elevate power lines with page-up and page-down keys, as you can elevate roads. Power lines per cell cost ₡ 20 to build and ₡ 0.48 / week to maintain.
To hook up the power in your city, you must first run a power line from your power source. You can do this by touching the blue area around your desired building and your power source. After that, you have to zone your areas that are located near your building that is powered. They will automatically connect themselves. Well done, now you can connect power through your city.
Also Read: How to Get More Workers in Cities: Skylines?
Final Thoughts
As you already know, power is essential for the life of your citizens and the maintenance of your city and its zones. Without a certain amount of power your buildings, factories and city traffic will not be able to function. Citizens will be able to withstand very little time in areas where there is no power and will move out, so you have to pay attention to ensure that every part of your city is provided with power.
In Cities: Skylines you can choose from four types of power sources, and each has advantages and disadvantages. Some are simply too expensive to build and maintain, and some are not efficient enough to supply your city with power.
As in real life, before building a power source, think carefully about which option may be the best for the benefit of your city and start building accordingly to it. And remember, the most important thing is that your citizens are satisfied and that your city develops, because that reflects the quality of your city management.
Feel free to share with us ideas about power sources and tips for other players who may have dilemmas about this part of city building.
