Power quality analysis using relay recorded data

Demand for electrical power is increasing everyday. Along with the increase in power demand, the characteristics of the loads are also changing. From being high power consuming, simple, robust loads, today loads are more efficient, but at the same time more sensitive. The performance and life of these highly sensitive loads depend a lot on the quality of power supplied to them. Power quality is any deviation of the voltage or current waveform from its normal sinusoidal waveshape. These disturbances include, but are not limited to, sag, undervoltage, interruption, swell, overvoltage, transients, harmonics, voltage flicker and any other distortions to the sinusoidal waveform. Occurrence of one or more of such disturbances is called a power quality event. Automatic classification of these disturbances is important for quick determination of the causes and to characterize possible impacts of the disturbances.Modern microprocessor based protective relays have numerous integrated functions that allow them to provide information on power quality events. It is proposed to utilize the existing numerical relays to analyze the quality of power at any point in the power system. The numerical relays can be programmed to capture the oscillographic waveform or any disturbance on the analogue signal or change of state of the digital signals and store it in the form of Common Format For Transient Data Exchange (COMTRADE) format. These records are then transferred to a central monitoring workstation for off-line analysis. This thesis describes a technique to automate the classification and analysis of the power quality events using relay recorded data. The technique uses voltage duration and magnitude (as specified in the IEEE Std. 1159 - 1995, IEEE Recommended Practice for Monitoring Electric Power Quality) of three phases to detect and classify the events. The classified results are then presented in a user-friendly graphical form. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is used to estimate the fundamental frequency and harmonic components in power systems. The graphical user interface of the power quality analysis tool is developed using Microsoft Visual C++ IDE and the algorithms are programmed in C++. The proposed technique was tested using data obtained by simulating different power system disturbances as well as on the data recorded by relays. The algorithms were able to classify the power quality events accurately. In the future, this facility will: enhance the real time monitoring of power quality and provide statistical analysis of available power quality data. From the utility viewpoint, it would allow them to monitor power quality in a cost effective manner and assist in preventive and predictive maintenance besides helping them to fix differential tariff based on the quality of the delivered power. It may also turn out to be a smart tool for them to penalize the consumer polluting the power quality