DSP- and GPS-based synchronized measurement system of harmonics in wide-area distribution system

With the recent progress in power electronics devices, harmonic pollution in the power system becomes a significant problem. Therefore, a great deal of attention has been paid to harmonic regulations and suppression technologies. As the utility power distribution system becomes broader and more complex, advanced harmonic measurement and analysis technologies are required. This paper presents the advanced measurement system of harmonics in a wide-area distribution system. The proposed measurement system has the following features. The measurement unit at each point in the distribution system consists of a digital signal processor as a high-speed processor and a global positioning system as a synchronization measurement. These units as terminals at multipoints in the distribution system are connected to the central monitoring station by the Internet. By using this system, the harmonic flows in the distribution system are measured and, hence, harmonic modeling can be realized in real time.