Consequences of poor power quality - an overview

Electricity, as a commercialised commodity, has gained greater importance in the last two decades. The customers use more sensitive and sophisticated electronic devices which demand a reliable high quality power supply. On the contrary, these devices produce distortions in the power supply due to their nonlinear characteristics. In this paper, a comprehensive survey on power quality (PQ) related problems, as experienced by the customers in different countries of the world, are highlighted. Also, an investigation is done to find out the technical and economical consequences of poor power quality. At present, no definite standard is available concerning various power quality aspects at the point of connection (POC). Therefore, it is a dilemma for the network operators, the customers and the equipment manufacturers, how to share the responsibility at the POC where they meet each other. As the consequences of poor power quality might have large financial impacts, more initiatives are expected from the regulators and the connected parties to take corrective actions for maintaining better quality of the power supply at the POC.