A new approach for the simultaneous identification of the location and individual contribution of multiple flicker sources using the least number of monitoring points

Abstract

SUMMARY In recent years, rising non‐linear loads and distributed generation sources have made voltage fluctuation one of the main quality problems in power systems. To deal with this problem, new methods should be developed that can identify all flicker sources and calculate the exact contribution of each flicker source from the total voltage flicker of the network. A method with fewer measurement points is more desirable because of the less monitoring time required and cost. In this article, a new method based on wavelet transform is proposed, which can not only detect the exact location of the flicker sources but also precisely determine the contribution of each flicker source from the overall flicker value and the voltage and current flicker signals of these sources. In contrast to the previously proposed methods, which can provide only one of the mentioned pieces of information, that is, the flicker source location, the proposed method can simultaneously calculate all three of them with fewer monitoring points. The proposed method was completely simulated in MATLAB/Simulink on single‐ and multi‐flicker source systems based on an IEEE 34‐node test feeder to evaluate the method's performance.