Electric Power is perhaps the most essential raw material used across all sectors of the economy.

It is an unusual commodity because it is required at a continuous flow. It cannot be conveniently stored in quantity. It cannot be subject to quality assurance checks before use like water.

Just as poor water quality cause health hazards and diseases to its consumers. Poor power quality (PQ) cause a lot of issues to equipment and facilities consuming it. Adversely affecting operations in varying degrees,equipment breakdown, misoperation, damage and shorten life span etc.

It goes without saying that PQ’s availability, reliability and management is a function of the gross domestic product (GDP) of nations. An index used to classify nations as developed, developing and undeveloped.

Power Quality in today’s workplace

Businesses today are highly competitive and the environment technologically driven, productivity is the key to success and automation the means, all these rely on the quality of power.

More than ever, it is no longer enough to deliver power only, but the need to understand power, its quality and how it influences the bottom line of businesses is now significantly critical.

With evolution of electronic loads taking important roles in organizations and lives, so do power quality concerns.

PQ has now become issues of everybody’s interest

What are these PQ concerns?

PQ concerns and their symptoms?

It is common in facilities to experience computer lock ups, malfunction, misoperation or damage.

Nuisance tripping of circuit breakers, relay and contractors.

Sensitive equipment malfunctioning or crashing intermittently like Programmable logic controllers(PLC’s), adjustable speed drives(ASD’s) variable frequency drives(VFD’s), loss of data, loss of synchronization of process equipment, noise interference with signals and telephones lines.

Motor, cables and transformers overheating, malfunction or damaged, light flickers or dim and electric shocks. The LCM of these issues is simple Poor Power Quality (PQ).

If your PQ is poor or what is not supposed to be your facility is losing MONEY through:

• Downtime
• Equipment problems/ maintenance
• Energy loss

The ultimate result being downtime (unreliable electrical systems), decreased productivity and frustrated personnel.

What then is Power Quality? – See Power Quality – an overview – (2)

Contact us

Victor Oyedu, FNSE, FNIEEE, CPQ.
Power Quality and Energy Management Specialist.
Publisher at Afrienergyonline.com
CEO, FullSpectrum Energy Solutions Limited, Nigeria.