Most loads are inductive. This causes the current to Lag the...

Most loads are inductive. This causes the current to Lag the voltage. When current and voltage is not aligned, this is referred to as a power factor and is in degrees. Capacitors have current leading voltage. so if your load is inductive they add capacitors usually at the load to correct the phase shift as close as possible to the load. out of phase power can cause waste. Homes usually are not charged for having a large PF Larger Comerciala users usually are So they Correct the PF between the load and meter, so they do not get charged for it. Some PF correction is done at substation but that is usually just fine tunning the further correction is done from the load the more energy is loss. IN US transformers are usually round and capacitors are square. So if you look at a locale utility pole you can tell what is happening. Generators can also put out power with positive or negative power factors by adjusting the field.

Because of stray inductance and Capacitance AC transmission is always going to have more loses than DC. DC loses can be lowered by increasing Voltage and reducing Current. Quickly removing power from a DC line is much harder than an AC line. AC lines you just wait for next Zero cross which occurs every 8.3 MS at 60 HZ and open the line. There are no Zero crosses on a DC line.