Load Curves, Tariff and Power

Factor Improvement
EPGTD
20EE205T

Dr. Nilesh Chothani

Pandit Deendayal Energy University
Definition of Load Curve:-

The curve showing the variation of load on the power station

with respect to time.
 The power demands of different consumers vary in
accordance with their activities.

 The result of this variation in demand is that load on a

power station is never constant rather it varies from time
to time. Daily Load curve
 DIFFERENT
LOADs
 Domestic load
 Commercial load
 Industrial Load
 Municipal Load
 Irrigation Load
 Traction Load
 BASE LOAD: The unvarying load which occurs
almost the whole day on the station
 PEAK LOAD: The various peak demands of load of
the station
TYPE OF LOAD
CURVES

 Daily load curve –Load variations during the

whole day
 Monthly load curve – Load curve obtained from
the daily load curve
 Yearly load curve - Load curve obtained from the
monthly load curve
 Load Duration Curve
 Integrated Load Curve
 Mass Curve
IMPORTANCE OF
DAILY LC
 The daily load curves have attained a great importance in
generation as they supply the following information readily :
1. The daily load curve shows the variations of load on the
power station during different hours of the day.
2. The area under the daily load curve gives the number of
units generated in the day.
3. Units generated/day = Area (in kWh) under daily load
curve.
4. The highest point on the daily load curve represents
the maximum demand on the station on that day.
5. The area under the daily load curve divided by the total
number of hours gives the average load on the station
in the day.
IMPORTANCE OF
DAILY LC
1. The ratio of the area under the load curve to the
total area of rectangle in which it is contained
gives the load factor.
2. The load curve helps in selecting the size and
number of generating units.
3. The load curve helps in preparing the operation
schedule of the station.
Load Duration Curve
There are some facts about the LDC and can be summarized
as:
1)The LDC is an arrangement of all load levels in a
descending order of magnitude.
2)The area under the LDC represents the energy
demanded by the system.
3)It can be used in economic dispatching, system
planning and reliability evaluation.
4)it is more convenient to deal with it than the load
curve.
Load Duration Curve
Factors Governing /Planning a Power Plant

• When planning a power plant, the two basic

parameters to be decided are:
1. Total power output to be installed (kWinst).
2. Size of the generating units.
Total Installed Capacity

• The total installed capacity required can be

determined from:
1. First demand (kWmax) estimated.
For estimating the expected maximum load, the
most useful tool is the construction of a
hypothetical load curve.
1. Growth of demand anticipated.
2. Reserve capacity required.
Various Factors used in Electricity Supply Industry

• Several factors used in the electricity supply industry

are:
1. Connected Load
2. Maximum Demand
3. Demand Factor
4. Average Load
5. Load Factor
6. Diversity Factor
7. Plant Capacity Factor
8. Plant Use Factor
(i) Connected load: It is the sum of continuous ratings of
all the equipments connected to supply system.
(ii) Maximum demand : It is the greatest demand of load
on the power station during a given period.
(iii) Demand factor. It is the ratio of maximum demand on
the power station to its connected load i.e.,
Demand factor = Maximum demand/ Connected load
The value of demand factor is usually less than 1.
(iv) Average load. The average of loads occurring on the
power station in a given period (day or month or year) is
known as average load or average demand.
Daily average load = No. of units (kWh) generated
in a day/24 hours
 Load
Factor Load factor = Average load/ Max. demand

average load over a given time

Load Factor, m interval
peak load during the same time
=
kWhinterval
a v g in a
year (1 year = 8760 hrs)
m = kW m a x ×876
0 of 1000 MW and the average annual load is 350
• e.g. if a plant has a peak load
MW then
350
Load Factor, m = 0.35
1000
=
• The average load is estimated by dividing the area under the daily load curve by
the time period considered
Area under Load
Average Load Curve
24
=
 Diversity
Factor
• The time distribution of maximum demands for
similar types of consumers is measured by a term
called “diversity factor”.
• It is the ratio of the sum of the maximum demands of the
individual consumers and the simultaneous maximum
demand of the whole group during a particular time.
• Diversity factor is greater than 1.
𝑠𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑎𝑥. 𝑑𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑢𝑎𝑙
𝑑𝑖𝑣 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑝𝑠
𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒
𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚
Diversity
Factor
𝑎+𝑏+
• For fig.3, diversity factor is given as
𝑑𝑖𝑣 𝑐
�
=
• Diversity helps to improve
� the load
factor and economic operation of
the power plant.
Plant Capacity Factor
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑘 𝑊 ℎ 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛
𝑛 𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 = 𝑎 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟
𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑘𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 × 24 ×
𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡
=
𝑘𝑊 ℎ 𝑔𝑒𝑛 (𝑦𝑒𝑎
365
𝑛
𝑟)
= 𝑘𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 ×
8760
It is the ratio of actual energy produced to the maximum possible
energy that could have been produced during a given period
i.e., Plant capacity factor = Actual energy produced/ Max. energy
that could have been produced
Plant use factor.
It is ratio of kWh generated to the product of plant
capacity and the number of hours for which the plant
was in operation
i.e. Plant use factor = Station output in kWh/
(Plant capacity × Hours of use)
Plant Use
Factor
• It is the ratio of energy produced in a given time to the maximum
possible energy that could have been produced during the same time

𝑘𝑊 ℎ 𝑔 𝑒 𝑛
of operation.
𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑈𝑠𝑒
𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 = 𝑘𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 × 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔

equal to the capacity factor. i.e. 𝑢 = 𝑛

• If the operating time is 1 year orℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠
8760 hrs, the plant use factor is
Plant Use
Factor
•As the plant-use factor approaches 1, it indicates the
need for additional capacity of the plant. The plant
capacity is always designed to be greater than the peak
load to take extra loads coming in future.
•The high value of the plant use factor indicates
that the plant is operating quite efficiently.
•In some inter-connected systems, the plant use factor
may exceed unity (e.g., 1.1 or 1.2) indicating that the
loads carried are in excess of the rated capacity since an
equipment is always designed to take 10 to 20% more
load than rated.
Representation of different
factors

Fig. 4 Representation of different factors

∴ Load Factor × Use Factor = Capacity

Factor
 Parts of Load duration
•Curve
Below figure shows the construction of a load-duration curve using the daily
load curve. The area under the annual load duration curve represents the
total energy supplied by the utility’s generating system during the year. It is
usually divided into three parts:
1. Base load, 2. Intermediate load, 3. Peaking load

• The base load is the load below which the demand never falls and is
supplied 100% of the time. The peaking load occurs for about 15%
of the time. The intermediate load represents the remaining load
region.
Example 1.
The maximum demand on a power station is 100 MW. If the
annual load factor is 40% , calculate the total energy
generated in a year.
Solution.
Energy generated/year
= Max. demand * L.F. * Hours in a year
= (100 × 103) × (0·4) × (24 × 365) kWh
= 3504 × 105 kWh
Example 2. A generating station has a connected load of
43MW and a maximum demand of 20 MW; the units
generated being 61·5 × 106 per annum. Calculate (i) the
demand factor and (ii) load factor.
Solution.
(i) Demand factor = Max. demand/ Connected load
= 20/43
= 0·465
(ii) Average demand = Units generated per annum / Hours
in a year
= 61.5 *106 /8760
= 7020 kW
Load factor = Average demand/Max. demand
=7020/20*103
= 0·351 or 35·1%
Tariff
•The rate at which electrical energy is supplied to a
consumer is known as tariff.
•Objectives of tariff. Like other commodities, electrical
energy is also sold at such a rate so that it not only returns
the cost but also earns reasonable profit. Therefore, a tariff
should include the following items :
(i) Recovery of cost of producing electrical energy at the
power station.
(ii) Recovery of cost on the capital investment in
transmission and distribution systems.
(iii) Recovery of cost of operation and maintenance of
supply of electrical energy e.g., metering equipment,
billing etc.
(iv) A suitable profit on the capital investment.
Types of Tariff
1. Simple tariff. When there is a fixed rate per unit of
energy consumed, it is called a simple tariff or uniform
rate tariff.
2. Flat rate tariff. When different types of consumers are
charged at different uniform per unit rates, it is called a
flat rate tariff.
3. Block rate tariff. When a given block of energy is
charged at a specified rate and the succeeding blocks of
energy are charged at progressively reduced/increased
rates, it is called a block rate tariff.
4. Two-part tariff. When the rate of electrical energy is
charged on the basis of maximum demand of the consumer
and the units consumed, it is called a two-part tariff.
 Types of Tariff
5. Maximum demand tariff. It is similar to two-part tariff
with the only difference that the maximum demand is
actually measured by installing maximum demand meter in
the premises of the consumer.
6. Power factor tariff. The tariff in which power factor of
the consumer’s load is taken into consideration is known as
power factor tariff.
• (i) kVA maximum demand tariff : It is a modified form of two-
part tariff. In this case, the fixed charges are made on the basis
of maximum demand in kVA and not in kW.
• (ii) Sliding scale tariff : This is also know as average power
factor tariff. In this case, an average power factor, say 0·8
lagging, is taken as the reference.
• (iii) kW and kVAR tariff : In this type, both active power (kW)
and reactive power (kVAR) supplied are charged separately.
 Types of Tariff
7. Three-part tariff. When the total charge to be made
from the consumer is split into three parts viz., fixed
charge, semi-fixed charge and running charge, it is known
as a three-part tariff. i.e.,
• Total charge = Rs (a + b × kW + c × kWh)
a = fixed charge made during each billing period. It
includes interest and depreciation on the cost of
secondary distribution and labour cost of collecting
revenues,
b = charge per kW of maximum demand,
c = charge per kWh of energy consumed.
• The principal objection of this type of tariff is that the
charges are split into three components. This type of tariff
is generally applied to big consumers.
PRESENTATION FLOW
 A.C POWERS
Active Power:
Measured in watts (normally shown as kW). Provides the “working” part
of the power system. Producing heat, light, motion etc.

Reactive Power:
Measured in volt-ampere-reactive (normally shown as kVAR). It only
maintains the electromagnetic field and provides no “working” part of
the power system.

Apparent Power: Total power

Measured in Volt-Ampere (normally shown as kVA). Provided both
working and nonworking parts of the power system.
A.C POWERS - Power Comparison
 POWER FACTOR
Electrical energy is almost exclusively generated, transmitted and
distributed in the form of alternating current, therefore the question
of power factor comes immediately into picture.

Most loads (80%) in electrical distribution systems are inductive in

nature and hence they have low P.F which is highly undesirable.

Low P.F causes an increase in reactive current, resulting in

additional losses of active power in all elements of power
system.

It is important to have power factor as close to unity as possible.

Note that leading power factor is also undesirable for power
system.
 POWER
FACTOR
If the circuit is inductive, the current lags behind the voltage by an angle Ѳ
and power factor is referred to as lagging.
 POWER
FACTOR
If the circuit is capacitive, the current leads the voltage by an angle Ѳ and
power factor is referred to as leading.
 POWER
FACTOR
If circuit is resistive, both current and voltage are in phase with each other
and power factor is referred as unity.
POWER FACTOR -Power Triangle-

Apparent power in a.c circuit has two components, active or working

power and reactive power.
From trigonometric relation,

Thus the power factor of a circuit may also be defined as the ratio of
active power to the apparent power.
For leading currents, the power triangle becomes reversed.
 POWER FACTOR -Power Triangle-
Now the power factor can be defined in one of the following 3 ways:

1. Power factor = cosѲ = cosine angle between V and I.

2. Power factor = cosѲ = Resistance/Impedance.
3. Power factor = cosѲ = Active power/Apparent power.

Let us assume a circuit having current of 10 A at a voltage of

200 V and its power factor is 0.8 lagging.
S = VI = 200(10) = 2000VA = 2KVA
P = VI cosѲ = 200(10)(0.8) = 1.6KW
Q = VI sinѲ = 200(10)(0.6) =
1.2kVAR
The circuit receives an apparent power of 2KVA and is able to convert only
1.6KW into working or active power. Reactive power 1.2KVAR neither
consumed nor it does any useful work, it flows back and forth in both
direction periodically.
 POWER FACTOR
Different types of electrical load have different Power Factors according
to its nature.

Name of Equipment Power Factor Percent

Lightly loaded induction motor 0.20 Lagging

Full Loaded induction motor 0.80 Lagging

Neon-lighting equipment 0.30 - 0.70 Lagging

Incandescent lamps 1.0 Unity

All types of resistance heating 1.0 Unity

devices (e.g. toaster, heater)
 Low lagging power factor conditions can be caused by various combinations of
the following inductive devices:
 Induction motors
 Inductive loads of fluorescent ballasts
 Rectifiers providing a DC power supply
 Arc welders
 Solenoids
 Induction heaters
 Lifting magnets
 Transformers.
 ARC WELDER SOLENOIDS

TRANSFORMER

MAGNET LIFTERS
INDUCTION MOTOR
 Why there is need to improve power factor?
 Why the power factor is important ?
 Exactly what is power factor correction?
 How the power factor will helps in the energy conservation?
 CAUSES OF LOW POWER FACTOR
MOST LOADS (80%) IN ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM ARE INDUCTIVE IN
NATURE. THE CAUSE OF LOW POWER FACTOR IS ONLY DUE TO INDUCTIVE
LOADS. INDUCTIVE LOADS RESPONSIBLE FOR LOW P.F ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Most of ac motors are induction type motors (1Φ and 3 Φ). At light load these
motors work at extremely low P.F of the order of 0.2 to 0.3 and rises to 0.8 or
0.9 at full load.

Arc lamps, electric discharge lamps, welding equipment and industrial heating
furnaces operated at low lagging power factor.

Transformers draws a magnetizing current from the supply. At normal load

this current does not affect the P.F, but they draws larger amount of
magnetizing current at light load, causes low primary current P.F.
DE’MERITS OF LOW POWER FACTOR
LOW POWER FACTOR RESULTS IN THE FOLLOWING DISADVANTAGES

LARGER KVA RATING: Electric machines (alternators, transformers,

switchgears) are always rated in KVA. KVA rating of any equipment
varies inversely with the P.F, therefore low P.F increases the KVA rating,
as a result KVA rating making the equipment larger and expensive.

GREATER CONDUCTOR SIZE: To transmit a fixed amount of power at

constant voltage, the conductor will have to carry more current at low
factor.
 DE’MERITS OF POWER FACTOR
LARGE COPPER LOSSES: The larger amount of current at low power
2
factor causes more I R losses in all the elements of the system.

POOR VOLTAGE REGULATION: Larger amount of current produces large

voltage drops (IR drops) in alternators, transformers, transmission lines
and distributors. This results in poor voltage regulation.

PAYED EXTRA UTILITY CHARGES: System operated at low P.F is

uneconomical from supplier`s point of view. Suppliers usually takes
extra charges from consumers who operated their load at low power
factor.
POWER FACTOR CORRECTION

• The process of supplying reactive power (lagging or leading) to

bring the P.F closer to unity is known as power factor correction.

• This can be done by following equipments, should be connected

in parallel with the load.
PF CORRECTION -STATIC CAPACITOR
The capacitor draws a leading current and neutralizes the lagging reactive
component of the load current, this raises the power factor.
Correct amount of capacitance must be used, otherwise P.F goes from
lagging to leading which is also undesired condition.
Static capacitor
The power factor can be improved by connecting a capacitor in parallel with the inductive load. As
we know that capacitor draws a leading current which can neutralize the lagging power factor
produced by the inductive loads. For three phase loads, the capacitors can be connected in star or
delta.
PF CORRECTION –SYNCH CONDENSOR
An over-excited synchronous motor running on no-load is known as
Synchronous Condenser.

Increasing the field excitation of synchronous motor will improve the P.F from
lagging to leading by operating in over excitation mode.

When synchronous machine is connected in parallel with the supply, it takes

the leading current which partly neutralizes the lagging reactive component of
the load.
Synchronous condenser
Synchronous motors take the leading current when they are over excited and
therefore they behave like capacitors. So an overexcited synchronous motors
running at no load is called synchronous condenser. When such machines are
connected in parallel with the supply, it takes the leading current which partially
neutralizes or tend to minimize the low power factor. Hence the power factor is
improved.
Phase advancers
Phase advancer is also a power factor improvement device. As we know that the
low power factor is due to induction motor’s stator, because it draws very high
current which lags behind the supply voltage by 900. Phase advancer in real is an
external ac excitation for the motor which relieves the stator winding of exciting
current and the power factor can be improved.
1. REDUCED DEMAND CHARGES
2. INCREASED LOAD CARRYING CAPABILITIES IN EXISTING CIRCUITS
3. IMPROVED VOLTAGE
4. REDUCED POWER SYSTEM LOSSES
5. REDUCED CARBON FOOTPRINT
Power factor Correction: Calculations
Power factor Correction: Calculations
Power factor Correction: Calculations
Power factor Correction: Calculations
Power factor Correction: Calculations
Power factor Correction: Calculations
Power factor Correction: Calculations
Power factor Correction: Calculations
Power factor Correction: Calculations
Example 1. An alternator is supplying a load of 300 kW at a p.f. of
0·6 lagging. If the power factor is raised to unity, how many more
kilowatts can alternator supply for the same kVA loading ?

Solution :
kVA = kW/ cosΦ
=300/0.6= 500 kVA
kW at 0·6 p.f. = 300 kW
kW at 1 p.f. = 500 *1 = 500 kW
∴ Increased power supplied by the alternator
= 500 - 300 = 200 kW
Note the importance of power factor improvement. When the p.f. of
the alternator is unity, the 500 kVA are also 500 kW and the engine
driving the alternator has to be capable of developing this power
together with the losses in the alternator. But when the power factor
of the load is 0·6, the power is only 300 kW. Therefore, the engine is
developing only 300 kW, though the alternator is supplying its rated
output of 500 kVA.
Example 2. A single phase motor connected to 400 V, 50 Hz supply
takes 31·7A at a power factor of 0·7 lagging. Calculate the
capacitance required in parallel with the motor to raise the power
factor to 0·9 lagging.
Solution :
The current taken from the supply is reduced from 31·7 A to 24·65 A without altering the
current or power taken by the motor. This enables an economy to be affected in the size of
generating plant and in the cross sectional area of the conductors.
Example 3. A 3-phase, 5 kW induction motor has a p.f. of 0·75
lagging. A bank of capacitors is connected in delta across the
supply terminals and p.f. raised to 0·9 lagging. Determine the kVAR
rating of the capacitors connected in each phase.

Solution :
Original p.f., cos φ1 = 0·75 lag ; Motor input, P = 5 kW
Final p.f., cos φ2 = 0·9 lag ; Efficiency, η = 100 % (assumed)
φ1 = cos−1 (0·75) = 41·41o ; tan φ1 = tan 41·41º = 0·8819
φ2 = cos−1 (0·9) = 25·84o ; tan φ2 = tan 25·84º = 0·4843
Leading kVAR taken by the condenser bank
= P (tan φ1 − tan φ2)
= 5 (0·8819 − 0·4843) = 1·99 kVAR
∴ Rating of capacitors connected in each phase
= 1·99/3 = 0·663 kVAR
Thank You