UNIT-III:

Power Quality & EMC in smart Grid:

The impacts of power quality are broadly classified as: direct, indirect and social. Power
Quality relates to the effect of voltage dips and swells, short & long interruption, harmonics,
surges and transient, flicker, unbalance, earthling and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)
problems.

Increasing number of renewable energy sources and distributed generators requires new
strategies for the operation and management of the electricity grid in order to maintain or even
to improve the power-supply reliability and quality.

The renewable energy sources such as solar, wind etc. has accelerated the transition towards
greener energy sources.

Smart Grid is increasingly seen as a means to facilitate climate friendly renewable energy
sources (renewables) and to enable efficient use of electricity. A consequence of Smart Grid is
a drastic increase in use of electronics in the power system. This makes the satisfactory function
of electrical and electronic equipment vital for realization of a robust Smart Grid.

The area within the field of Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) focusing on the operation
of power distribution systems including connected equipment without any malfunctioning is
called Power Quality (PQ). Two entities are involved in Power Quality:

• The grid operator, and

• The users of electrical power.

The grid operator is responsible for the quality of the supplied voltage and the users of electrical
power are responsible for the quality of consumed or produced current.

The physical characteristic of Smart Grids technologies with an increased incorporation of

potentially sensitive electronics has naturally implications with respect to Electromagnetic
Compatibility – EMC. The satisfactory function of electrical and electronic equipment with
respect to electromagnetic disturbances is the aim of EMC. The IEC – International Electro-
technical Commission defines Electromagnetic Compatibility as “the ability of an equipment

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or system to function satisfactorily in its electromagnetic environment without introducing
intolerable electromagnetic disturbances to anything in that environment”.

Electromagnetic disturbances may be radiated or conducted and electrical/electronic

equipment may potentially be sensitive to any or to both of these types of disturbances.
Disturbances are in turn subdivided into a number of low and high frequency phenomena,
where IEC defines low frequency up to and including 9 kHz.

Relation between Voltage Quality and EMC:

Both IEC and EU define EMC to cover electromagnetic phenomena from zero hertz.
Furthermore, the IEC defines the following principal electromagnetic conducted phenomena:

Conducted low-frequency phenomena:

• Harmonics, inter-harmonics.

• Signals superimposed on power lines.

• Voltage fluctuations.

• Voltage dips and interruptions.

• Voltage unbalance.

• Power frequency variations.

• Induced low frequency voltages.

• DC component in AC networks.

Conducted high-frequency phenomenon:

• Induced voltages or currents.

• Unidirectional transients.

• Oscillatory transients.

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The technical function of an electrical network is electromagnetic energy transfer with
adequate Voltage Quality at its sites. Similarly, immunity of an electrical network can be seen
as the ability to absorb disturbing emissions such as distorted current with adequate Voltage
Quality while transferring energy, i.e. with satisfactory function, e.g. low order harmonics and
voltage fluctuations, network strength is relevant for network immunity. Geo-magnetically
induced current caused by space weather is another example of electromagnetic immunity
relevant to an electric grid to keep its function satisfactory.

Examples of lack of EMC in relation to evolving Smart Grid technologies have been reported
in Sweden. Kilowatt- hour meters in households sending data signals on the power lines have
caused interference with dimmer controlled lamps and electrical appliances. There are also
cases reported where electrical apparatus in households have interfered with electronic
kilowatt-hour meters with adverse errors in registration of energy. Power electronics in wind
power plants have emitted disturbances interfering with transfer of kilowatt-hour meter
readings as signals on power lines.

Power electronics based photovoltaic solar and wind energy equipment may emit disturbances
causing voltage fluctuations and unbalance.

However, with a proper design such equipment may well improve Voltage Quality, e.g.
reducing depth of voltage dips.

Power Quality issues of Grid connected Renewable Energy Sources:

Centralized power generation systems are facing the twin constraints of shortage of fossil fuel
and the need to reduce emissions. Long transmission lines are one of the main causes for
electrical power losses. Therefore, emphasis has increased on distributed generation (DG)
networks with integration of renewable energy systems into the grid, which lead to energy
efficiency and reduction in emissions. With the increase of the renewable energy penetration
to the grid, power quality (PQ) of the medium to low voltage power transmission system is
becoming a major area of interest. Most of the integration of renewable energy systems to the
grid takes place with the aid of power electronics converters. The main purpose of the power
electronic converters is to integrate the DG to the grid in compliance with power quality
standards. However, high frequency switching of inverters can inject additional harmonics to
the systems, creating major PQ problems if not implemented properly.

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Custom Power Devices (CPD) like STATCOM (Shunt Active Power Filter), DVR (Series
Active Power Filter) and UPQC (Combination of series and shunt Active Power Filter) are the
latest development of interfacing devices between distribution supply (grid) and consumer
appliances to overcome voltage/current disturbances and improve the power quality by
compensating the reactive and harmonic power generated or absorbed by the load.

Solar and wind are the most promising DG sources and their penetration level to the grid is
also on the rise. Although the benefits of DG include voltage support, diversification of power
sources, reduction in transmission and distribution losses and improved reliability, power
quality problems are also of growing concern.

Grid integration of Renewable Energy Systems - Power Quality Issues

Though the output of a PV panel depends on the solar intensity and cloud cover, the PQ
problems not only depend on irradiation but also are based on the overall performance of solar
photovoltaic system including PV modules, inverter, filters controlling mechanism etc. The
short fluctuation of irradiance and cloud cover play an important role for low-voltage
distribution grids with high penetration of PV. Therefore, special attention should be paid to
the voltage profile and the power flow on the line. It also suggests that voltage and power
mitigation can be achieved using super-capacitors which result in an increase of about 20% in
the cost of the PV system. Voltage swell may also occur when heavy load is removed from the
connection. Concerning DG, voltage disturbance can cause the disconnection of inverters from
the grid and therefore result in losses of energy and also long-term performance of grid
connected PV systems shows a remarkable degradation of efficiency due to the variation of
source and performance of inverter.

There are two ways to mitigate the power quality problems - either from the customer side or
from the utility side. The first approach is called load conditioning, which ensures that the
equipment is less sensitive to power disturbances, allowing the operation even under significant
voltage distortion. The other solution is to install line conditioning systems that suppress or

counteracts the power system disturbances. Several devices including flywheels, super-
capacitors, other energy storage systems, constant voltage transformers, noise filters, isolation
transformers, transient voltage surge suppressors, harmonic filters are used for the mitigation
of specific PQ problems. Custom power devices (CPD) like DSTATCOM, and UPQC are

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capable of mitigating multiple PQ problems associated with utility distribution and the end user
appliances.

Power Quality Conditioners for micro-grid:

A power conditioner (also known as a line conditioner or power line conditioner) is a device
intended to improve the quality of power that is delivered to electrical load equipment.

In a smart grid the role of a power quality conditioner is to:

• Deliver voltage & current of the proper level and characteristics to enable load
equipment to function properly.

• Ensure efficient power transfer between utility grid & micro grid.

• Isolate each micro grid and the utility grid from their respective noises and disturbances.

• Energy creation i.e. to convert DC power generated by Solar panels to AC.

• Integration with energy storage system.

TYPES OF POWER QUALITY CONDITIONERS

Distribution Static Compensator (DSTATCOM)

Active power filters

-Shunt active power filters

-Series active power filters

-Hybrid Active Power Filters

o Unified Power Quality conditioner (UPQC)

DISTRIBUTION STATIC COMPENSATOR (DSTATCOM)

• The DSTATCOM is a custom power device based on a voltage Source Converter

(VSC) shunt connected to the distribution networks.

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 • A DSTATCOM is normally used to precisely regulate system voltage, improve voltage
profile, reduce voltage harmonics and for load compensation.

• D-STATCOM can also mitigate voltage dips and can compensate both magnitude and
phase angle by injecting reactive or reactive power to the point of connection with the
grid.

• The VSC connected in shunt with the ac system provides a multifunctional topology
which can be used for up to three quite distinct purposes: voltage regulation and
compensation of reactive power, correction of power factor, and elimination of current
harmonics.

ACTIVE POWER FILTERS

Active power filter technology has evolved in the past quarter century with varying
configurations and control topologies as a full fledged technique for providing compensation
for reactive power, harmonics and neutral current in ac networks. Active filters are also used
to terminate the voltage

harmonics, to regulate terminal voltage, to inhibit voltage flicker and to advance voltage
balance in 3- phase systems.

Generally, there are three configurations in which they are connected in power system:

• Shunt active power filters

• Series active power filters

• Hybrid Active Power Filters

SHUNT ACTIVE POWER FILTERS

• It compensates current harmonics by injecting equal-but-opposite harmonic

compensating current.

• It operates as a current source injecting the harmonic components generated by the load
but phase shifted by 180deg.

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 • They are usually connected across the load to compensate for all current related
problem such as reactive power compensation, power factor correction, current
harmonics and load unbalance compensation.

SERIES ACTIVE POWER FILTERS

• It compensates current system distortion caused by non-linear loads.

• he high impedance imposed by the series APF is created by generating a voltage of the
same frequency as that of harmonic component that needs to be eliminated.

• It acts as a controlled voltage source and can compensate all voltage related problems
such as voltage harmonics, voltage sags & swells, voltage flicker etc.

HYBRID ACTIVE POWER FILTERS

• By controlling the amplitude of the voltage fundamental component across the coupling
transformer, the PF of the power distribution system can be adjusted.

• The control of the load power factor imposed a higher voltage across the filter capacitor.

• This type of configuration is very convenient for compensation of high power medium
voltage non-linear loads

UNIFIED POWER QUALITY CONDITIONER (UPQC):

• The Unified Power Quality Conditioner (UPQC) combines the Shunt Active Power
Filter with the Series Active Power Filter, sharing the same DC Link, in order to
compensate both voltages and currents, so that the load voltages become sinusoidal and
at nominal value, and the source currents become sinusoidal and in phase with the
source voltages.

• UPQC can compensate both voltage related problems such as voltage harmonics,
voltage sags/swells, voltage flicker as well as current related problems like reactive
power compensation, power factor correction, current harmonics and load unbalance
compensation.

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 • There is a significant increase in interest for using UPQC in distributed generation
associated with smart grids because of availability of high frequency switching devices
and advanced fast computing devices (microcontrollers, DSP, FPGA) at lower cost.

Web based Power Quality monitoring:

It is a multi-pronged approach to identifying, analysing and correcting power quality problems.

• Helps to identify the cause of power system disturbances.

• Helps to identify problem conditions before they cause interruptions or disturbances, in

some cases.

• Objectives for power quality monitoring are generally classified into:

• Proactive approach

• Intended to characterise the system performance.

• Helps to understand and thus match the system performance with customer needs.

• Reactive approach

• Intended to characterise a specific problem.

• Performs short term monitoring at specific customers or at different loads.

REAL TIME (POWER QUALITY) MONITORING SYSTEM

This permanent monitoring system has the following components:

1) Measurement instruments

• Involves both the voltage recorder and disturbance analyser.

• Has a trigger circuit to detect events.

• Includes a data acquisition board to acquire all the triggered and sampled data.

2) Monitoring workstation

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 • Used to gather all information from the measuring instruments.

• Periodically send information to a control workstation.

3) Control workstation

• This station configures the parameters of measuring instruments.

• Gathers and stores the data coming from the remote monitoring workstations.

• Does the data analysis and export.

4) Control software

• This software drives the control workstation.

• Does the analysis and processing of data.

• Algorithms used for processing varies according to the system used.

• Algorithms used may be based on wavelet transforms or expert systems or some other
advanced technique.

5) Database server

• Database management system should provide fast and concurrent access to many users
without critical performance degradation.

• Also, it should avoid any form of unauthorized access.

6) Communication channels

• Selection of communication channel strongly depends on monitoring instruments,

connectivity functions and on their physical locations.

• Some of the possible channels are fixed telephone channels by using a modem and
mobile communication system by using a GSM modem.

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DATA ANALYSIS OF POWER QUALITY MEASUREMENTS

• Analysis is done by the control software and the method of analysis depends on the
type of disturbance.

• Main objective of an analyser is to identify the type of event.

• Analyser looks for parameters in the measured data to characterise the waveform.

• Since individual inspection of all wave shapes is not easy due to the large size of
database, a few characteristics are extracted from the measured data, mainly magnitude
and duration.

• Since database has a lot of information and recorded data, analyser extracts only the
relevant disturbances.

Analyser groups the captured events in a number of classes.

• These classes are made by comparing the captured waveforms with the ideal
waveforms.

• This classification is called disturbance classification.

• By comparing the captured events with libraries of power quality variation

characteristics and correlating with system events, causes of variations can be
determined.

• Every electrical disturbance has an associated waveform which describes its

characteristics, which provides important clues to locate the source of electrical
problem.

BENEFITS OF POWER QUALITY MONITORING

• Ensures power system reliability.

• Identify the source and frequency of events.

• Helps in the preventive and predictive maintenance.

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 • Evaluation of incoming electrical supply and distribution to determine if power quality
disturbances are impacting.

• Determine the need for mitigation equipment’s.

• Reduction of energy expenses and risk avoidances.

• Process improvements-monitoring systems allows to identify the most sensitive

equipment’s and install power conditioning systems wherever necessary.

Power Quality Audit:

A quality electrical power supply must be available at all times, always within the frequency
and magnitude tolerance limits, and always with a perfectly sinusoidal waveform. A reliable,
efficient and safe power supply is essential for guaranteeing productivity and precision in any
organisation. Business and industrial organisations, public authorities, hospitals and
laboratories and banking and finance groups are relying more and more on computerised and
electronic equipment for their daily work activities. These important electrical loads are subject
to a range of disturbances that adversely affect the quality of the power supply and the
reliability of the electrical system.

The Power Quality Audit (PQA), is an approach to check the reliability, efficiency and safety
of an organisation’s electrical system.

It verifies the following aspects:

• The continuity of the power supply: i.e., that the power in the network is available on a
regular basis and is able to ensure the efficient operation of the equipment;

• The quality of the voltage: i.e., that there are no low or high frequency disturbances in
the network capable of damaging the system components.

• The PQA uses network analysers, instruments specially designed to detect faults and
deteriorations and record parameters and information that may be of use in locating the
causes of disturbances.

• The data is collected and analysed by engineers, who can then diagnose the problems
and suggest the most appropriate solutions

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