Power Quality Enhancement in Electrical Distribution Systems
Summary
Power quality refers to the suitability of the electrical supply to deliver stable voltage and current waveforms that meet the requirements of end-use equipment. In modern distribution networks, disturbances such as voltage sags, swells, flicker, unbalance and harmonics are introduced by renewable generation, power electronic converters and non-linear loads. These disturbances can lead to equipment malfunction, reduced efficiency and shortened asset lifespans. To address these issues, a range of active compensation devices and network-level strategies have been developed, notably the Unified Power Quality Conditioner (UPQC), which integrates series and shunt active power filters to correct both voltage and current anomalies in real time. Advancements in control algorithms—spanning from proportional-integral schemes to artificial intelligence and optimisation metaheuristics—have enhanced the rapidity and precision of disturbance detection and mitigation. The deployment of energy storage, microgrids and adaptive filters has further strengthened distributed-generation resilience and grid stability, supporting the integration of solar, wind and electric-vehicle charging infrastructure. Globally, these technologies underpin efforts to improve grid reliability, reduce losses and accommodate the growing penetration of low-carbon energy sources.
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Power Quality Enhancement in Electrical Distribution Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in power quality enhancement in electrical distribution systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Power quality: The degree to which the voltage and current supplied to electrical equipment remain within prescribed limits of magnitude, frequency and waveform.
Voltage sag: A short-duration reduction in RMS voltage, often caused by sudden load increases or faults, leading to equipment trips or malfunctions.
Harmonic distortion: Deviation of a waveform from its ideal sinusoidal shape due to the presence of voltage or current components at integer multiples of the fundamental frequency.
Unified Power Quality Conditioner (UPQC): A power-electronic device combining series and shunt active power filters to simultaneously correct voltage and current power-quality disturbances.
Active power filter (APF): An electronic compensator that injects currents or voltages into the network to counteract harmonics, unbalance or reactive power demands.
Total Harmonic Distortion (THD): A metric quantifying the ratio of the sum of the powers of all harmonic frequencies to the power of the fundamental frequency.
References
- Empirical analysis of power quality using UPQC with hybrid control techniques. Results in Engineering (2023).
- An Overview on Power Quality Issues and Control Strategies for Distribution Networks With the Presence of Distributed Generation Resources. IEEE Access (2023).
- Design of Soccer League Optimization Based Hybrid Controller for Solar-Battery Integrated UPQC. IEEE Access (2022).
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