Examining power quality disturbances in electrical power distribution networks

Electric utilities have been committed to supplying their customers with reliable power, and the customer satisfaction is the cutting edge in the competitive environment. However, the number of nonlinear loads is increasing due to the development of electronics in equipment. Consequently, utilities are faced with the risk that the permissible levels defined in the standards could be violated on a number of their networks. That brings the quality of supply at the top of utility strategies in a more structured way than in the past. This paper presents some aspects of the power quality program in Alexandria-Egypt, program that was started three years ago. The purpose of this program is to review the overall scheme of voltage quality through extensive monitoring. Such monitoring system yields a massive database of service quality data. The paper also presents a quantification of the harmonic distortion, the total annual sags and short interruptions of customer classes of the utility of Alexandria based on key indices that are calculated using data collected from the program. The information in this research has crucial importance in supporting issues about quality service regulations for customer´s satisfaction.