Influence of Weather Conditions in Power Quality Events

Abstract

Power quality (PQ) analysis requires the measurement of electrical quantities that characterize the power supply waveforms such as RMS value, frequency, unbalances, harmonic and inter-harmonic distortion or the presence of transients. The measurement of these quantities is regulated by internationally accepted standards from IEEE and IEC. Monitoring the delivered power quality is even more important due to the recent advances in power electronics and also the ever increasing penetration of renewable energies. Power quality measurements are typically performed at select locations, and not on a regular basis, usually to settle disputes between utility companies and consumers. With the increasing integration of renewable energy sources (RES) in the electrical power grid, the uncertainty in the available power capacity rises. In fact, the dependence of the power generated on weather conditions increases with the share of RES in the electrical grid. Additionally, this uncertainty is also affected by the consumer side, as electricity consumption is also weather-dependent and every kWh produced must be consumed somewhere. This paper presents a study relating PQ events, acquired with a PQ analyzer developed by the Instrumentation and Measurement Group (GIM) at Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT), with weather conditions acquired at Beja Airport.