1.

4 Power Quality Problems

Of the terms and definitions of PQ that are listed in the previous
section, some of the major concerns of both customers and utility are,
- Poor load power factor
- Non-linear loads
- DC offset in loads
- Notching in load voltage
- Unbalanced loads
- Disturbance in supply voltage
1.4.1 Poor load power factor
Consider a distribution system in which a source is supplying an
inductive load through a feeder. The feeder has a resistance of R_ and an
reactance of X,. The feeder current is denoted by !_ and the load voltage is
denoted by Vl. The load power factor is lagging and the power factor angle is
denoted by Bi . The system phasor diagram is shown in Figure.

In this diagram the load current is resolved into a real

part l,p = I 1-I cosBi and a reactive part f,q = I I/ I sin 81• Of
these two components, the work done depends only on
the real power.

Now suppose the load power factor is poor, i.e., the load has a large
XIR ratio. Then the power factor angle Bi will be large. This implies that the
reactive component of the current is large and hence the magnitude of the
load current !, is also large. This will not only cause a significant drop in the
feeder voltage but there will also be a large amount of If, I 2R loss. This loss is
associated with high heat dissipation in the feeder. Excessive heat may reduce
the life span of the feeder.
To correct the large feeder drop, let us assume that as a remedial
action we connect a capacitor in parallel with the load. This capacitor draws a
current le that is in phase opposition to l,q· The resulting current drawn by the
capacitor-load combination is denoted by I',. This is shown in Figure.

It can be seen that even though

the real component of the current
remains the same, the magnitude of the
current drawn from the source has
reduced considerably. This is because the
reactive component of the current drawn
has reduced considerably and, as a
conseuence, the power factor angle has
decreased.
1.4.2 Non-linear loads
A Non Linear Load [NLL] is a load with current consuming
characteristics that do not follow the same fundamental shape as the applied
voltage waveform.
When there are nonlinear loads, the current does not look like the
voltage on a waveform. Harmonics come from the loads so the nonlinear
load creates current distortion, which then causes voltage distortion.
Power electronic loads are non linear loads which are the major
source of harmonic generation in power systems.
Consider an example where a new main frame computer system has
been installed in a office building. At the same time, to protect the
computer, a very large uninterrupted power supply (UPS) has also been
installed.
The UPS employs power electronic switches and as a result it can
cause interference to the loads that are connected in parallel with the UPS.
Assuming that all the loads of the office building are placed on the
same bus, the UPS can cause screens of many smaller computers to flicker
or roll and can even cause these computers to freeze. It can also cause other
electronic circuits to malfunction.

Consider the three-bus radial distribution system shown in Figure

in which three separate loads are being supplied by a single source. Load-1
is connected to Bus-2 while the other two loads are connected to Bus-3.
Two feeders join the three buses.
Now suppose out of these three loads, Load-2 is drawing harmonic
current. This will cause a harmonic current to flow through both the
feeders. Due to the presence of the feeder impedances this harmonic
current will cause a harmonic voltage drop at Buses 2 and 3.
Bus-1 is connected to a source and hence its bus voltage will not
have any harmonic component. We shall call any such bus a stiff bus.
Since both Bus-2 and Bus-3 voltages are distorted, the currents
drawn by Load-I and Load-3 will also get distorted as a consequence even
if they are linear loads. This is undesirable and might even be
unacceptable.