Reactive Power Management and Power Factor Correction

Typically, both utilities and consumers have incentives for power factor improvement. For a utility, power factor improvement reduces system losses and increases the portion of generation capacity for productive use. In addition it can help maintaining voltage at desired level. Consequently, utilities often encourage consumers to maintain high power factors by applying tariff clauses which penalize consumers for low power factor.

Power factor correction solutions can reduce the kVA demand to lower your power bills and reduce carbon emissions in networks with varying levels of harmonics. In addition active harmonic filters can reduce these harmful system harmonics and also provide power factor correction.

Course Objectives

Upon the successful completion of this course, each participant will be able:

• To study the disadvantages and problems of poor power factor
• To know the methods of reactive power compensation
• To learn the standard values of power capacitors and how it can be tested and protected against resonance and over-voltages
• To know the Economic consideration for power factor correction & the harmonic problems
• To know how the harmonic problems can be solved
• To know how the capacitor bank can be controlled by microprocessor system

Course Outline

DAY ONE

• AC transmission fundamental requirements
• Comparison between AC and DC transmission
• Reactive Power Compensations and optimization
• Voltage control of Ac networks
• Power system stability
• Capacitive & Inductive Compensators
• Switching transient , lightning and resonance over voltages
• Protection against over voltages
• Power capacitors protection against resonance and over voltages

DAY TWO

• Different types of capacitor banks
• Metal enclosed capacitor banks, pad mounted capacitor banks , stack rack capacitors and pole top capacitor banks
• Synchronous condenser as dynamic reactive power compensator
• Standard values of static capacitors
• Testing of power capacitors according to IEC

DAY THREE

• Power factor correction & voltage
• What is power factor and methods of power factor correction
• Power factor problems
• Static & dynamic methods for power factor correction
• Capacitor selection
• Supply harmonics
• Supply resonance
• Detuning reactors

DAY FOUR

• Power quality and power factor correction
• Power quality problems related to power factor correction
• Harmonic resonance and new capacitor installation
• Harmonic problems
• Filtering
• Power factor capacitor ratings , reactor ratings, filter bank configuration, protection requirements, switch requirements, disconnecting requirements and layout requirements

DAY FIVE

• Economic considerations of power factor correction
• Most economical power factor and penalty
• Automatic power factor correction
• Microprocessor and capacitor bank controller
• Regulation for the distribution systems
• Static compensators
• Banks fusing concerns
• Capacitors control & testing

Case Study

Examples and case studies will be Appropriate during the training sections. Delegates should come to the training with an example of a project they may wish to undertake and deliver in future to be discussed. Delegates will be asked to work in groups to practice planning skills and learn various concepts and techniques.

Course Methodology

A variety of methodologies will be used during the course that includes:

• (30%) Based on Case Studies
• (30%) Techniques
• (30%) Role Play
• (10%) Concepts
• Pre-test and Post-test
• Variety of Learning Methods
• Lectures
• Case Studies and Self Questionaires
• Group Work
• Discussion
• Presentation