Improving Power Quality by Distributed Generation
Prof.Mrs. P.R.Khatri,Member,IEEE, Prof.Mrs. V.S.Jape, Member,IEEE, Prof.Mrs. N.M.Lokhande,Member,IEEE
Prof.Mrs. B.S.Motling,Member,IEEE
Abstract - This paper highlights the case studies of steel plant and
Municipal Corporation taking into consideration the power
quality improvements. The main reason we are interested in
Power Quality is economic value. The increasing application of
electronic equipment and Distributed Generation has heightened
the interest in Power Quality in recent years and this has been
accompanied by special development of special terminology to
describe the phenomena. Meeting customer’s expectations and
maintaining customer confidence are the strong motivators
behind maintaining the Power Quality. Distributed Generation
has started gaining importance in our country and can become
the answer for increasing the power failure. Power failure leads
power interruption leading to insecure and unreliable Power
System.
Index Terms - Distributed Generation, Power Quality, Harmonic
Distortion, Voltage fluctuations, Reliability, Flicker.
I. INTRODUCTION
The sensitive customer loads has the need to define the quality
of electricity provided in a common and succinct manner that
can be evaluated by the electricity supplier as well as by
consumers or equipments suppliers. One of the basic problems
in solving power quality problems is that disturbances in the
electrical power system are not restricted by the legal
boundaries. Power suppliers, power consumers, and
equipment suppliers all must work together in solving the
problem.
The utility services connected to the power system always
have a complaint about the quality of the power they receive.
Power quality, therefore is a consumer driven issue and the
end user’s point of reference takes precedence. So we can
define it as any power problem manifested in voltage, current
or frequency deviations that results in failure or mal operation
of consumer equipment. In addition to real power quality
problems, there are also perceived power quality problems
related to hardware, software or control system malfunctions.
Power quality like quality in other goods and services, is
difficult to quantify. But it is generally taken that when the
power received cannot fulfill the needs of maintaining proper
voltage and frequency than the “quality” is lacking.
Affilitation footnotes:
Mrs.P R Khatri is with the Department of Electrical Engineering, PVG
College of Engg and Technology, Pune,Maharashtra INDIA.
( email : khatri_preeti@yahoo.co.in)
Mrs V S Jape is with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Modern
College of Engg , Pune,Maharashtra INDIA( email :jape_swati@yahoo.co.in)
Mrs N M Lokhande is with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Modern
College of Engg , Pune,Maharashtra INDIA. (email :
ankitlokhande2003@yahoo.co.in)
A. Why are we concerned about power quality?
The ultimate reason why we are interested in power quality is
economic value. There are economic impacts on utilities their
customers and suppliers of load equipment. The power quality
can have direct impact on many industrial consumers.
Principal phenomenon causing electromagnetic disturbances
leading to failure of power quality are:
1) Conducted low frequency phenomenon.
2) Radiated low frequency phenomenon.
3) Unidirectional transients.
4) Oscillatory transients.
5) Electrostatic discharge phenomenon.
6) Nuclear electromagnetic pulse.
B. The Main Power Quality Issues affected by Distributed
Generation
1. Sustained Interruption: This is the traditional reliability
area. Many generators are designed to provide backup power
to the load in case of power interruption. However,
Distributed Generation has the potential to increase the
number of interruptions in some cases.
2. Voltage Regulation: This is often the most limiting factor
for how much Distributed Generation (DG) can be
accommodated on a distribution feeder without making
changes.
3. Harmonics: There are harmonics concerns with both
rotating machines and inverters, although concern with
inverters is less with modern technologies.
4. Voltage Sag: The most common power quality problem is
the voltage sag, but the ability of DG to help
II. STEPS INVOLVED IN POWER QUALITY PROBLEMS
Before actually dealing with power quality solutions it is
necessary to understand the electrical environment in which
end use equipment operates. This is necessary to reduce the
long term economic impact of inevitable power quality
variations and to identify system improvements that can
mitigate power quality problems. Electric power research
institute (EPRI) has defined sets of power quality to solve
problems related to this. The power quality indices are used to
evaluate compatibility of the voltage as delivered by electric
utility and the sensitivity of the end user’s equipment.
 Keeping in pace with this electric utilities throughout the
world are going for the concept of benchmarking service
quality. Utilities now have realized that the levels of the
service provided through out their distribution systems should
be understood and analysed, and if the levels provided are
appropriate or not has to be determined. Power quality
problem takes into account a wide range of different
phenomenon.
The steps involved are:
1. Identify the problem category whether it is related to
voltage and frequency unbalance, harmonic distortion or
transients.
2. Characterize the problem and search for the causes.
3. Identify the range of solutions.
4. Evaluate technical alternatives by modeling, simulation or
by procedure analysis
5. Evaluate the economics of possible solutions.
To overcome the problems created by the increasing power
demands by the end consumers and to improve the quality of
the power the Distributed Generation is the only answer. The
norms for the electric power industry has been to generate
power in large or bulk in a centralized generating station and
to distribute the power to end users through transformers,
transmission lines and distribution lines. This system can
create problems with power delivery when the incoming load
increases. DG can help in solving the problems of power
system reliability by acting as either a back up unit or the main
unit.
C. Advantages of Distributed Generation
We can analyze the advantages from three different
perspectives.
1. End-user perspective: End users who place a high value
on electric power can generally benefit greatly by having
back up generation to provide improved reliability. There are
also substantial benefits in high efficiency applications, such
as combined heat and power, where the total energy bill is
reduced. End users may also be able to receive compensation
for making their generation capacity available to the power
systems in area where there are potential power shortages.
2. Distribution utility perspective: The distribution utility is
interested in selling power to end users through its existing
network of lines and substation. It can be used for
transmission and distribution capacity relief. Thus it can
also serve as a hedge against uncertain load growth and
high price hikes on the power market, if permitted by
regulatory agencies.
3. Commercial power producer perspective: Those looking at
DG from this perspective are mainly interested in selling
power in the power market. Commercial aggregators will bid
the capacities of the units generated by them. The DG then can
be directly interconnected into the grid or simply serve the
load off- grid. However the perspectives on interconnected
DG of typical utility distribution are very conservative in
their approach to planning and operation.
III. INTERFACING TO THE
UTILITY SYSTEM
While the energy conversion technology may play some role
in the power quality most power quality issues relates to the
type of electrical system interface. However some notable
exceptions are :
1. The power variation from renewable sources such as wind
and solar can cause voltage fluctuations.
2. Some fuel cells and micro turbines do not follow step
changes in load and must be supplemented with battery or
flywheel storage to achieve improved reliability.
3. Misfiring of the engine sets can lead to persistent and
irritating type of flicker which is more prominent when
magnified by the response of power system.
The main type of electrical system interfaces however are
1) Synchronous machine.
2) Asynchronous or Induction machine.
3) Electronic power inverters.
Though the synchronous machines are most commonly used
technology and are well understood. The machine can follow
any load within its designed capability. It is possible for such
machine which is large enough relative to the capacity of the
system at the PCC to regulate the utility system voltage which
can be a power quality advantage in certain weak systems.
Generators should be sized or designed considerably larger
than the load to achieve satisfactory power quality in isolated
operation.
Though it is very simple to interface induction machine to
the utility system as no special synchronizing equipment is
necessary. The chief issue however is that a simple induction
generator requires reactive power to excite the machine from
the power where it is connected. Another problem that is
prominent in such machines is that the capacitor bank yields
resonance that coincides with the harmonics produced. Most
of the DG technologies nowadays have to use electronic
power inverter to interface with the electrical power system.
However to achieve better control and to avoid harmonics
problems the inverter technology has changed to switched ,
pulse – width modulated technologies.
IV. CASE STUDY
OF DISTRIBUTED GENERATION
Distribution generation has started gaining importance in our
country and can become the answer for increasing power
failure. Power failure leads power interruption leading to
insecure and unreliable power system.
D. Case I
In this paper a case study of a small township of Maharashtra
(India) called Khopoli is considered. The total population
of this township is a meager 65000 but it has around 150 small
and large scale industries in and around. The municipal
council here had to face the problem of managing the waste
generated. So along with BARC Mumbai, they have started a
biomass conversion plant that generates electric power enough
to illuminate the street lights. The daily generation of waste in
Khopoli is about 300 to 400 kg minimum.The waste collected
is in the form of garbage, silts recovered from drains and
streets.Various sources of waste are household waste, hotel
and restaurant waste, market wastes, silt removal from drain
and waste rotten vegetables.The waste is collected by using
curb system of collection and is finally disposed off to a large
open field situated 8 km away from the main township.
The plant is then filled with water in which animal waste,
dirty drain water and rotten compost are added. The material is
then charged into the digester after 10 days of decomposition.
The waste is stirred and digested keeping the temperature at
desired level. The regular feeding and stirring schedule is then
followed regularly. The plant is located in open space having
sufficient sunlight as the temperature is to be maintained
between 15c to 30c to have optimum gas generation .It is been
experimentally checked that methanogenic bacteria grows the
best at temperature of 33c –40c.and the rate of gas generation
approximately doubles for every 10c rise ion temperature.
The gas thus released is then given to a gas turbine which is
coupled to a generator that converts the bio energy to
electrical energy and is used by the municipality load.
Experiments are also going on to use this gas as alternate fuel
by municipal transports.
Some precautional measures are also taken by them such as :
1) Temperature of the digester is maintained constant.
2) A minimum gradient of 1% is maintained for conveying the
gas.
3) The plant cover is not opened all of a sudden.
4) Khopoli has a long monsoon season so care is taken to see
that monsoon water is not mixed up with the slurry.
5) Plastic canopy creating ‘green house’ effect is used to
maintain the temperature.
E. Case II
A steel factory called Bhushan Steel and Strips Pvt. Ltd.
Which is just 8 kms away from the main township of Khopoli
has started power generation by heat recovery method. The
thermal energy which is wasted in its furnace is recovered and
used for producing steam and generate power. The basic point
in power generation is by using the heat released by the liquid
fuel i.e. the furnace oil. They have used two diesel generator
set to generate power. Each set can produce 12 MW and the
reserve capacity is 12.6 MW. The efficiency of the two sets
are 97% .The system have only one drawback that is the
power factor is very low only about 0.7.Both the sets are
electrically synchronized and are operated in parallel. The load
sharing is done both in manual and auto mode.
Approximately200 gm of fuel is consumed per kWh but it
varies as per the fuel quality and the energy to be generated.
The exhaust gas which is generated is also used for making
steam which in turn is used for different media such as air,
fascinating chemicals etc. The energy generated is sufficient
to fulfill their energy demands and make them self- sufficient.
They are also planning to sell the extra power to nearby
industries.
This type of power generation is most commonly applied
technology nowadays and is readily available. Utilities
currently favor this type of mobile generator sets mounted on
trailers so that they can be moved to sites where they6 are
needed. Diesel generator sets are quite popular with end users
for back up power. But one of the serious disadvantages of
this technology is high emission of NOx and SOx .This
severely limits the number of hours of operation and the units
generated. Thus they are popular only in combined heat and
power cogeneration.
V. CONCLUSION
The two case studies that we have seen above are just two
examples of distributed generation. Due to regulatory act that
prevailed before it was not possible for anyone to produce
power to meet their own demands. But with power
deregulation it is now possible for us to fulfill our own
demands.
We in India are still at a early stage of accepting
Distributed generation commercially. But we have already
initialized it by starting it as a part of cogeneration. Most of
the sugar factories of western Maharashtra (India) , the steel
factories and even the municipal corporations are encouraged
to initiate the ventures. Though we are progressing at a very
slow pace but we are definitely moving forward .We just
require some reforms in the regulatory acts which are
prevailing at present. The power growth has been tremendous
in the last decade. So it has become increasingly difficult to
fulfill the growing demands of power. Consequently the first
criteria of power engineering, that is to supply uninterrupted
power supply is not been fulfilled. This also affects the
voltage profile of the power system leading to poor power
quality. So distributed generation either from non
conventional sources or in the form of cogeneration should be
used to improve the power reliability. The value of DG to the
power delivery system is very much dependent on time and
location. It must be available when needed and must be where
it is needed.
The obvious choice for a location is a substation where
there are sufficient space and communication facilities. Also it
is necessary some or the other non conventional sources
should be used. Such generation will certainly relieve capacity
constraints on transmission and power supply along with
improvement in power quality. The generation might be
leased for peak load period and the load profile can be
improved also. As the steel plant and municipality citied
above is generating its own power so there is power saving
and this power which is saved can be wheeled towards the
other consumers. This venture will not only save power but
also will improve the power quality and the power reliability
 VI. REFERENCES
[1] An assessment of distribution system power quality. statistical summary
report,EPRI TR – 106294 –V2.
[2] IEEE recommended practice on monitoring electric power, IEEE
standards 1159- 1995.
[3] Dugan, McGranahan, Santoso and Beaty, Electrical power system quality.
[4] McGranahan, Kennedy, Power quality standards and specifications
workbook.
[6] Wills, Scott and Dekker, Distributed power generation planning and
evaluation.
[7] Samples collected and analysed during case study.

VII . BIOGRAPHIES
1. Prof Mrs P R Khatri (M’2003) born in Nagpur, Maharashtra
(India),June 17, 1969.Graduated from Nagpur University and
completed Post Graduation from Pune University.Currently working
with PVG’s College of Engg and Technology,Pune.The areas of
interest include power systems,microprocessor,control systems.

2. Prof Mrs V S Jape (M’2003) born in Nagpur, Maharashtra (India),Dec

18,1973.Graduated from Nagpur University and completed Post
Graduation from Pune University.Currently working with Modern
College of Engg,Pune.The areas of interest include power systems.

3. Prof .Mrs N M Lokhande (M’ 2004) born in Kolhapur,

Maharashtra (India),on June 17,1975. Graduated from Karnataka
University and completed Post Graduation from Pune University.
Currently working with Modern College of Engg, Pune.The areas of
interest include power electronics, power systems,signal processing