Power Quality Disturbances, Causes, and Impacts

Oscillatory
Impulse transient
Transient

Dips/Sags Swells/Surges Notching

Waveform Transient Undervoltage

Distortion Noise (Brownout)

  

Impulse Transient
A sudden and short-duration disturbance caused by a very rapid change in the steady-
state condition of voltage, current, or both, that is unidirectional in polarity.
Frequency range: >5 kHz (high frequency)
Duration: 30-200 uSec 
Low-frequency transients: <500 Hz
Duration: <30 cycles 
Causes: •Capacitor switching 
•Tripping of ASDs and other sensitive equipment 
Impacts:
•Voltage magnification at customer capacitors 
Oscillatory Transient
A sudden and short-duration disturbance caused by a very rapid change in the steady-
state condition of voltage, current, or both, that is bi-directional in polarity.
Medium-frequency transients (500 Hz-2 kHz) 
Duration: < 3 cycles) 
•Traveling waves from lightning impulses
Causes:
•Capacitor and circuit switching transients
Impacts: •Failure of customer equipment 

High frequency Transients >2 kHz

Duration: < 0.5 cycle 
•Switching on secondary systems 
Causes: •Lightning-induced ringing
•Local ferroresonance 
•Radiated noise may disrupt sensitive  electronic equipment 
Impacts: •High rate of rise oscillations may cause low-voltage power supplies to fail 
•Short-duration voltage variations
 

Dips
Decrease between 0.1 and 0.9 pu in rms voltage or current at the power frequency for
duration from 0.5 cycles to 1 minute
Causes: •Local and remote faults 
Impacts: •Dropouts of sensitive customer equipment 

Voltage Swells/Surges 
Increase to between 1.1 and 1.8 pu in the rms voltage or current at the power frequency
for durations from 0.5 cycle to 1 min
 •Single-line-to-ground faults 
Causes:
•Equipment overvoltage
•Failure of MOVs forced into conduction 
Impacts:
•Long-duration voltage variations 

Overvoltage 
Increase in the rms ac voltage greater than 110% at the power fre quency for a duration
longer than 1 min. 
•Load switching off 
Causes: •Capacitor switching on 
•System voltage regulation 
Impacts: •Problems with equipment that require constant steady-state voltage 

Under-Voltage
Decrease in the rms ac voltage to less than 90% at the power frequency for a duration
longer than 1 minute
•Load switching on 
Causes:  
•Capacitor switching off 
Impacts: •Problems with equipment that require constant steady-state voltage, system
 voltage regulation 

Waveform distortion / Harmonics 

Nonlinear loads, such as power electronic equipment, produce non-sinusoidal current
waveforms when energized with a sinusoidal voltage. They inject currents at harmonic
(integer multiple of the fundamental frequency) frequencies into the system. Harmonic
currents, and the voltage distortion they create as they flow through the system
impedance.
Causes: •Nonlinear loads 
•Improper operation of sensitive equipment 
•Reduction of equipment operating reliability and service life (0-100th
Impacts: harmonic)
•Capacitor failures or fuse blowing
•Telephone interference 
 

Notching 
Periodic voltage disturbance caused by the normal operation of power electronics
devices when current is commutated from one phase to another 
Causes: •Normal operation of electronic equipment
•Improper operation of equipment 
Impacts:
•Equipment failure

Noise
Any unwanted electrical signals with broadband spectral content lower than 200 kHz
superimposed upon the power system voltage or current in phase conductors, or found
on neutral conductors or signal lines 
•Improper grounding 
•Normal operation of electronic equipment 
Causes:
•Arcing devices 
•Switching power supplies
•Interference with electronic devices such as microcomputer and
Impacts:
programmable controllers