A Study of Load Imbalance Influence on Power Quality Assessment for Distribution Networks

Power quality studies for distribution networks are very important for future network expansions realized by utility companies, so the accuracy of such studies is critical. Load data, including information on load imbalance, could have in many situations a significant influence on the correct estimation of many power quality indicators. This paper investigates the impact of load imbalance on several phase imbalance indicators and voltage quality indicators by comparing the values of these indicators, as calculated in a power quality study using, sequentially, different sets of load data characterized by different load imbalances. The results of this study confirm the original hypothesis, showing that the use of inaccurate consumption profiles for loads leads to an inaccurate estimation of some power quality indicators. In addition, the results highlight the difficulty of approximating the actual consumption profiles of electrical loads so that this approximation does not affect the correctness of the estimation of phase imbalance and voltage quality indicators.