Power Quality in Distribution Systems

Dr. Ahmad Omar

 Introduction
Need for Power Quality
• The quality of supply has become a strategic issue
for distribution systems, for the following main
reasons:-
– The economic necessity for business to increase their
competitiveness.
– The widespread use of equipment which is sensitive to
voltage disturbance.
– The opening of electricity markets.
 Need for Power Quality
The economic necessity for industries to increase their
competitiveness
• The cost due to disturbances like interruptions, voltage
dips, harmonics, over voltages, etc, is substantial.

• These costs are mainly due to losses in production, raw

materials, non-quality of production and delivery delays
due to restarting of production facilities.

• Power is a product and power quality is the measure of

the quality of that product, from the economic point of
view.
 Need for Power Quality
Widespread use of equipment which is sensitive to voltage
disturbance
• As a consequence of the numerous advantages
(flexible operation, excellent efficiency, high
performance levels, etc), we have seen the
widespread use of computer driven processes,
automated systems and adjustable speed drives in
industry.

• Computers and microprocessors have invaded our

daily life.
 Need for Power Quality
Widespread use of equipment which is sensitive to voltage
disturbance
• Electronic circuits have become a part of today’s
life.

• Consumer appliances nowadays are both sensitive

to voltage disturbance and generate disturbance
themselves.

• Their multiple use requires an electrical power

supply which provides good performance in terms
of continuity and quality.
 Need for Power Quality
The opening of electricity markets
• Electricity consumers now have the freedom to choose
their supplier.

• This means that quality has become a differentiating

factor.

• In Egypt, “the Egyptian Electric Utility & Consumer

Protection Regulatory Agency” is the responsible agency
for overseeing the Egyptian electricity market, and it is
working to ensure consumer protection and the lawful
competition in the electricity market.
 Power Quality Definition
• The quality of power is often characterized by “clean” or
“dirty”.

• Clean power refers to power that has sinusoidal voltage

and current without any distortion and operates at
designed voltage magnitude and frequency.

• Dirty power describes power that has a distorted

sinusoidal voltage and current or operates outside the
design limits of voltage and frequency.

• Figure (1) shows an example of a distorted waveform.

Figure (1) a distorted waveform
 Power Quality Definition
• There exist some sources and events that cause clean
power to become dirty, like lightning, distribution system
faults, non-linear loads, and poor wiring or grounding.

• Usually distribution systems use the term ‘power quality

problem’ instead of ‘dirty power’ when referring to poor
power quality.

• So power quality problem is defined as “any power

problem manifested in voltage, current or frequency
deviations that results in failure or missed operation of
end user equipment”.
 Monitoring and Solving of Power Quality Problems
• The increased sensitivity of systems makes it more
important for electricity distribution companies to
monitor the quality of the power delivered to their
customers.

• Suitable monitoring devices are put in place to collect

required measurements such as r.m.s. variations, powers,
harmonics, etc.

• Some new high-speed equipment can capture an event

that occurs within milliseconds such as a voltage dip.
 Monitoring and Solving of Power Quality Problems

• A power quality audit can help to identify power quality

problems.

• The second step, dealing with power quality problems,

usually is to install equipment that will compensate for
those problems, or to make some modifications to the
system, or simply by making proper wiring or grounding,
it depends upon the problem itself.

• The objective of the power quality audit is to determine

the source of power quality problems and to devise a
solution to that problem.
 Monitoring and Solving of Power Quality Problems

• Typically, after two to three weeks of monitoring, the

power quality professional has enough data to
recommend ways to solve any power quality problems.
 Types of Power Quality Problems
• Power quality problems can be divided into the
following categories:
(a) Short duration variations
(b) Long duration variations
(c) Transients
(d) Voltage unbalance
(e) Voltage fluctuations
(f) Waveform distortion
(g) Power frequency variations
 Short Duration Variations
• Short-duration voltage variations are almost always caused by fault
conditions, the energization of large loads that require high starting
currents, or intermittent loose connections in power wiring.

• Depending on the fault location and the system conditions, the fault
can cause:
– Temporary voltage drops (sags)
– Voltage rises (swells)
– Complete loss of voltage (interruptions).

• The fault condition can be close to or remote from the point of

interest.

• In either case, the impact on the voltage during the actual fault
condition is a short duration variation until protective devices
operate to clear the fault.
 Short Duration Variations
(a) Voltage Sags
• Voltage sags are referred to as voltage dips in Europe.

• Voltage sag is defined as a reduction in between 10

percent and 90 percent of the nominal root mean square
(rms) voltage at power frequency, for durations from 0.5
cycles to one minute.

• So voltage sags are characterized by pair of data as seen

in figure (2):
– Depth: ΔV (or its magnitude),
– Duration: ΔT.
Figure (2) Characteristics of voltage sag
 Short Duration Variations
(a) Voltage Sags
• Voltage sags are usually associated with distribution
system faults; these faults draw energy from the system,
but can also be caused by energization of heavy loads or
starting of large motors.

• Figure (3) shows typical voltage sag that can be

associated with a single line-to-ground (SLG) fault on
another feeder from the same substation, while figure (4)
shows a temporary voltage sag caused by motor starting.
Figure (3) Voltage sag caused by a SLG fault
Figure (4) Temporary voltage sag caused by motor starting
 Short Duration Variations
(a) Voltage Sags
• Compared to other power quality problems affecting
industrial and commercial end users, voltage sags occur
most frequently.

• They reduce the energy being delivered to the end user

and cause computers to fail, adjustable speed drives to
shut down, and motors to stall and overheat.

• Solutions to voltage sag problems include equipment that

protects loads that are sensitive to voltage sags.

• Examples of these types of equipment include constant

voltage transformers; dynamic voltage restores (DVR);
uninterruptible power supplies (UPS).
 Short Duration Variations
(b) Voltage Swells
• Voltage swell is defined as an increase to between 110 percent and
180 percent in rms nominal voltage at the power frequency, for
durations from 0.5 cycles to one minute.

• As with voltage sags, voltage swells are usually associated with

system fault conditions, but they are not as common as voltage
sags.

• One way that a swell can occur is from the temporary voltage rise
on the un faulted phases during a single line-to-ground (SLG) fault.

• Figure (5) illustrates a voltage swell caused by a SLG fault.

• Swells can also be caused by switching off a large load or

energizing a large capacitor bank.
Figure (5) Instantaneous voltage swell caused by a SLG fault
 Short Duration Variations
(b) Voltage Swells
• Voltage swells are characterized by their magnitude (rms value)
and duration.

• The severity of a voltage swell during a fault condition is a

function of the fault location, system impedance, and grounding.

• The increased energy from a voltage swell often overheats

equipment and reduces it life.
 Short Duration Variations
(c) Interruptions
• An interruption occurs when the supply voltage magnitude
decreases to less than 10 percent for a period of time not exceeding
1 minute.

• Interruptions can be the result of power system faults, equipment

failures, and control malfunctions.

• The interruptions are measured by their duration since the voltage

magnitude is always less than 10% of nominal.

• The duration of an interruption due to a fault on the utility system

is determined by the operating time of utility protective devices.
 Short Duration Variations
(c) Interruptions
• Delayed reclosing of the protective device may cause a momentary
or temporary interruption.

• The duration of an interruption due to equipment malfunctions or

loose connections can be irregular.

• Some interruptions may be preceded by voltage sag when these

interruptions are due to faults on the source system.

• The voltage sag occurs between the time a fault initiates and the
protective device operates.

• Figure (6) shows such a momentary interruption preceded by

voltage sag.
Figure (6) Momentary interruption preceded by a voltage sag
 Short Duration Variations
(c) Interruptions
• Loss of production in a business costs money.

• An interruption can result in loss of production in an office, market,

or industrial factory.

• Not only does the loss of electrical service cause lost production,
but the time required to restore the service also causes lost
production.

• Some types of processes cannot “ride through” even short

interruptions.

• “Ride through” is the capability of equipment to operate during a

power disturbance.
 Short Duration Variations
(c) Interruptions
• For example, in a plastic injection molding plant, for a
short interruption of 0.5 second it takes 6 hours to restore
production.

• The common methods of reducing the impact of costly

interruptions include on-site and off-site alternative
sources of electrical supply.

• An end user may install on-site sources, such as battery-

operated uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), while a
utility may provide an off-site source that includes two
feeders with a high-speed switch that switches to the
alternate feeder when one feeder fails.
 Long Duration Variations
• Long Duration Variations encompass rms deviations at
power frequencies for longer than one minute.

• Long duration variations can be:

– Over-voltages
– Under-voltages
– Sustained Interruptions

• Over-voltages and under-voltages generally are not the

result of system faults, but are caused by load variations
on the system and system switching operations.
 Long Duration Variations
(a) Overvoltages
• An overvoltage, figure (7), is an increase in the rms ac
voltage greater than 110 percent at the power frequency
for duration longer than 1 minute.

• Over-voltages are usually the result of load switching

(e.g., switching off a large load), or energizing a capacitor
bank).

• The over-voltages result because the system is either too

weak for the desired voltage regulation or voltage
controls are inadequate.

• Incorrect tap settings on transformers can also result in

system over-voltages.
Figure (7) Overvoltage
 Long Duration Variations
(b) Undervoltages
• An undervoltage, figure (8), is a decrease in the rms ac voltage to
less than 90% at the power frequency for a duration longer than 1
minute.

• Under-voltages are the result of the events which are the reverse of
the events that cause over-voltages.

• A load switching on or a capacitor bank switching off can cause an

undervoltage until voltage regulation equipment on the system can
bring the voltage back to within tolerances.

• Incorrect tap settings on transformers can result in system

undervoltage.

• Overloaded circuits can result in under-voltages also.

Figure (8) Undervoltage
 Long Duration Variations
(c) Sustained Interruptions
• When the supply voltage has been zero for a period of time in
excess of 1 minute, the long duration voltage variation is
considered a sustained interruption.

• Voltage interruptions longer than one minute are often permanent

and require human intervention to repair the system for restoration.

• The term sustained interruption refers to specific power system

phenomena and, in general, has no relation to the usage of the term
outage.
 Voltage Unbalance
Definitions of Percent Voltage Unbalance:
• The voltage unbalance in percent is defined by the
National Electrical Manufacturers Association
(NEMA) as:

Max. deviation from average voltage

Voltage Unbalance (%) =100* − −  (1)
Average voltage
 Figure (9) Balanced and Unbalanced Systems

Va
Va

Vb
Vc Vb

Vc

Balanced system Unbalanced system

 Voltage Fluctuations
• Voltage fluctuations are described as repetitive or random
variations in the magnitude of the supply voltage due to sudden
changes in the real and reactive power drawn by a load.

• The magnitudes of these variations do not usually exceed 10% of

the nominal supply voltage.

• However, small magnitude changes occurring at particular

frequencies can give rise to an effect called lamp flicker, figure
(10).

• Flicker is essentially a measure of how annoying the fluctuation in

luminance is to the human eye.
Figure (10) Voltage flicker caused by arc furnace operation
 Voltage Fluctuations

• Flicker can be evaluated by the two following

quantities:
– Short term severity (Pst)
– Long term severity (Plt)

• Short term severity (Pst) is measured over a period

of ten minutes by a flicker meter.
 Voltage Fluctuations
• Then long term severity (Plt) is calculated from a
sequence of 12 Pst values over a two hour interval,
according to the following expression.

12 P 3
Plt =3 12 sti → (6)
i =1

• According to IEC 61000-3, the accepted limits of

Pst and Plt for low-voltage power supply systems
are 1.0 and 0.8 respectively.
 Reliability Indices
(a) System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI).

Total number of customer interruptions

SAIFI=
Total number of customers served

• This index is designed to give information about

the average frequency of sustained interruptions per
customer over a predefined area.

• There are different methods for calculating the

index, depending on the available data:
 Reliability Indices

SAIFI =
 Ni  Li  Si
= =
NT LT ST
where:
Ni : Number of customers interrupted for each interruption event
during reporting period (one year unless otherwise stated),
NT :Total number of customers served for the area being indexed.
Li : Interrupted load.
LT : Total load.
Si : Number of transformers interrupted.
ST : Total number of transformers.
i : an interruption event.
 Reliability Indices
(b) System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI).

SAIDI=
 Customer interruption durations
Total number of customers served

• This index is designed to give information about the

average time the customers are interrupted and it
commonly referred to customer minutes of interruption
or customer hours.

• There are different methods for calculating the index,

depending on the available data:
 2.6.2 Reliability Indices

SAIDI =  ri Ni  ri Li  ri Si
= =
NT LT ST

where:
ri :is restoration time for each interruption event.
Table (1) Reliability Indices of some European Countries for the year 2001

SAIDI SAIFI
(minutes lost per (interruptions per
Country customer per year) customer per year)
Unplanned Planned Unplanned Planned
Finland 468 33 6.61 0.55
France 59 6 1.20 0.04
Britain 75.84 7.85 0.84 0.04
Hungary 250.20 139.80 2.13 0.5
Italy 149.09 84.82 3.29 0.59
Ireland 199.3 202 1.31 0.49
Portugal 530.74 57.37 7.51 0.32
Spain 179.69 36.57 3.30 0.42
Sweden 162.90 42.28 1.34 0.23
 Table (2) Reliability Indices of some European Countries for the year 2004

SAIDI SAIFI
(minutes lost per customer per (interruptions per customer per
Country year) year)
Unplanned Planned Unplanned Planned
Finland 103 30 4 0.5
France 57.1 6.60 1.30 0.05
Britain 87.33 6.95 0.75 0.03
Hungary 137.4 178.80 1.9 0.68
Italy 90.53 62.62 2.48 0.4
Ireland 162.80 390.7 1.7 0.67
Portugal 217.79 49.16 3.66 0.23
Spain 123.6 22.8 2.06 0.19
Sweden 59.73 29.59 1.05 0.22
 Comparison Between Reliability Indices for Egypt and Some European Countries

• For Egypt, the reliability indices were as follows for the

year 2004:

SAIDI = 164.97 minutes/customer/year

SAIFI = 2.44 interruptions/customer/year

• It is obvious that these indices are better than some of the

European countries like Hungary, Ireland and Portugal.
 Table (3) SAIFI Index Of North Cairo Electricity Distribution Company

SAIFI July August September October November December January

Planned 0.046 0.05 0.075 0.015 0.079 0.093 0.045

Unplanned 0.195 0.19 0.129 0.131 0.122 0.153 0.086

Total 0.26 0.24 0.205 0.146 0.202 0.246 0.131

 Table (4) SAIDI Index Of North Cairo Electricity Distribution Company

SAIDI July August September October November December January

Planned 7 4.4 4.61 1.33 7.7 8.8 6.56

Unplanned 5.73 4.9 4.26 4.93 4.32 6.06 0.63

Total 12.7 9.3 8.88 6.26 12.03 14.86 7.189

 Figure (2.24) SAIDI Index Of Districts During January 2006

SAIDI
25 21.28
20 17.36

15 12.89
SAIDI

9.09
10 7.56 6.5 6.26 7.08

5 2.09 2.64 2.51 1.52

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