Large Scale Proactive Power-Quality Monitoring: An Example From Australia

Abstract

In Australia and many other countries, distribution network service providers (DNSPs) have an obligation to their customers to provide electrical power that is reliable and of high quality. Failure to do so may have significant implications ranging from financial penalties theoretically through to the loss of a license to distribute electricity. In order to ensure the reliability and quality of supply are met, DNSPs engage in monitoring and reporting practice. This paper provides an overview of a large long-running power-quality monitoring project that has involved most of Australia's DNSPs at one time or another. This paper describes the challenges associated with conducting the project as well as some of the important outcomes and lessons learned. A number of novel reporting techniques that have been developed as part of the monitoring project are also presented. A discussion about large-volume data management, and issues related to reporting requirements in future distribution networks is included.Abstract -In Australia and many other countries, distribution Network Service Providers (DNSPs) have an obligation to their customers to provide electrical power that is reliable and of high quality. Failure to do so may have significant implications ranging from financial penalties theoretically through to the loss of a license to distribute electricity. In order to ensure the reliability and quality of supply are met, DNSPs engage in monitoring and reporting practice.This paper provides an overview of a large long-running power quality monitoring project that has involved most of Australia's DNSPs at one time or another. The paper described the challenges associated with conducting the project as well as some of the important outcomes and lessons learned. A number of novel reporting techniques that have been developed as part of the monitoring project are also presented. A discussion about large-volume data management, and issues related to reporting requirements in future distribution networks is included.

Lifetime benchmarking of two DC-link passive filtering configurations in adjustable speed drives

“…Modern distribution networks still face different power quality issues such as voltage unbalance, background harmonic distortion, voltage sag, swell and line frequency variation, etc. Recent power quality issues show that among the different types of power quality disturbances, unbalanced voltage has the most frequent occurrence in many distribution networks [8,9]. During voltage unbalance events, three-phase diode rectifiers may enter in single-phase operation mode (depending on the load level and unbalance level), which can generate loworder harmonic components (100 Hz, 200 Hz at 50 Hz mains) in the DC-link voltage.…”

Lifetime Estimation of DC-Link Capacitors in Adjustable Speed Drives Under Grid Voltage Unbalances

“…Modern distribution networks face different power quality issues, such as voltage unbalance, background harmonic distortion, voltage sag, swell and line frequency variation, etc. Recent power quality issues show that among the different types of power quality disturbances, the unbalanced voltage has the most frequent occurrence in many distribution networks [9,10]. Some of the main issues affecting the voltage unbalance in a distribution network are [11]: 1) unequal distribution of single-phase load on three-phase power system; 2) asymmetrical feeders and transformer winding impedances, and 3) asymmetrical power generation of grid connected single-phase distributed generations, such as roof-top solar inverters.…”

Analysis of Dense-Mesh Distribution Network Operation Using Long-Term Monitoring Data

“…[1,2]. Even though there is still lot of concern and research devoted to the processing of such a huge amount of recorded data [3] and its reliable communication back to distribution system operator database [4,5], the usefulness of measurement data availability is already obvious [1,2,[6][7][8][9][10][11]. One of the fields that will benefit from the detailed measurement data availability would be distribution system modelling, planning, and operation optimization [1,6,7,[11][12][13][14], which will be more accurate.…”