A contribution to solve the problem of attributing harmonic distortion responsibility

Owing to the proliferation of loads which draw nonsinusoidal currents, the current and voltage distortion in distribution systems is ever increasing. The correct identification of the source of distortion is important for attributing the responsibility of disturbances to utility and customers. In this paper, a new classification of the possible classes of responsibility is proposed, defining some conditions, based on the improvement of the method of decomposition of the current into conforming and nonconforming components, and of the method based on the evaluation of the sign of harmonic active powers, which allows their identification.