Electrical Power & Machines Dept.

‫قسم هندسة القىي واآلالت الكهربية‬

Faculty of Engineering ‫كلية الهندسة‬
Cairo University ‫جامعة القاهرة‬

2. Currents from lightning strokes passing through the power system cause high-
impulse voltages that frequently flash over insulation and lead to other
phenomena, such as short circuits.

3. Distorted currents from harmonic-producing loads also distort the voltage as they
pass through the system impedance. Thus a distorted voltage is presented to other
end users (see Fig. 1.3).

Figure 1.3 Propagation of harmonics (generated by a nonlinear load) in power systems

Therefore, while it is the voltage with which we are ultimately concerned, we

must also address phenomena in the current to understand the basis of many
power quality problems.

Thus the term PQ is often used to express voltage quality, current quality,
reliability of service, quality of power supply, etc.
PQ mainly deals with Continuity of the supply, and Quality of the voltage.

1.5 Why Are We Concerned about Power Quality?

For example, it has been reported that a 10% increase in voltage stress caused by
harmonic currents typically results in 7% increase in the operating temperature of a
capacitor bank and can reduce its life expectancy by 30% of normal. To avoid such
effects, it is important to continuously assess the quality of power supplied to a
consumer.

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Electrical Power Generation and Utilization EPM 627: Applications of Power Quality in
Master of Science in Electrical Power and Industrial & Residential Installations
Machines Engineering Academic Year 2015-2016