Power Quality Assessment in Radial Distribution Feeders Based on Smart Meter Data

The increased proliferation of power electronic-based devices and their necessity in daily life will lead to power quality problems in distribution networks, particularly residential feeders. Maintaining a high level of power quality is a crucial performance evaluation indicator for both operation and planning. Understanding power quality issues through network monitoring will help mitigate the detrimental effects of these problems for both sides (power providers and consumers). Nowadays, the data recorded by the emerging smart meters in the distribution networks represent an efficient tool to monitor and assess the power quality delivered to consumers. This paper presents monitoring of some power quality indices such as Total Voltage Harmonic Distortion (TVHD), Phase Voltage Unbalance Rate (PVUR), power factor, overvoltage, and frequency variation over six months. The results are assessed according to international standards. The study is conducted on four residential feeders of Raparin substation, comprising a total of 105 nodes. The results show that PVUR is within standard limit for all the nodes, the system frequency is mostly above 50 Hz, TVHD exceeded IEEE limits at some nodes, and some nodes experienced low power factor.