43 – Power Quality

Power quality is an issue that is becoming increasingly important to electricity consumers at all levels of usage. Sensitive equipment and non-linear loads are commonplace in both the industrial and the domestic environment, because of which, a heightened awareness of power quality is developing. The control of reactive power, and therefore harmonics, can be achieved by controlling a proportion of the power systems current through a reactive element. Conventionally, this is achieved by switching inductors and capacitors in shunt with the power system, using thyristors. With the SVC, the control of the current is achieved by controlling the output voltage magnitude of an inverter. SVCs are used to absorb or inject reactive currents to eliminate the harmonic distorting currents drawn by non-linear loads.