TEST & MEASUREMENT
Power Quality Monitoring: The Importance of Standards Compliant
Power Quality Measurements By Jose Mendia, Senior Engineer, Product Applications, Analog Devices
Figure 1. Power quality issues.
THE NEED FOR POWER QUALITY MEASUREMENT IN TODAY’S ELECTRIC INFRASTRUCTURE
Power quality has found a renewed interest due to changing power generation modes and consumption dynamics. The unprecedented growth in renewable sources at different voltage levels has increased the amount of PQ related issues. Consumption patterns have also seen a wide transformation due to unsynchronised loads added at multiple entry points of the grid and voltage levels. Some examples are electric vehicle (EV) chargers that can require hundreds of kilowatts and a great number of data centres and their related equipment such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. In industrial applications, arc furnaces that run by variable
frequency drives, switching transformers, etc. not only add a lot of unwanted harmonics to the grid, but are also responsible for voltage dips, swells, Power quality in the utility space refers to the quality of the voltage delivered to the consumer; a series of prescribed regulations for the magnitude, phase, and frequency determine this quality of voltage and current. While the voltage is easily controlled by the generation side, the current is governed largely by consumer usage. The concept and implications of PQ issues are rather widespread depending on the end users. The economic impact of bad PQ has been studied and surveyed extensively in the last few years; its effects are estimated to be in the region
of billions of dollars worldwide.1 All these studies
conclude that monitoring the quality of power has a direct impact on the economic results of many business sectors. Even though it is clear how bad PQ negatively affects the economics of at scale is not an easy task. Monitoring PQ in a facility involves having highly trained personnel and expensive equipment installed on multiple points along the electric system for long or
POWER QUALITY MONITORING AREAS OF APPLICATION
Power quality monitoring is often seen as a cost saving strategy for some business sectors and a critical activity for others. Power quality issues can
Figure 2. The dynamics of generation and consumption can lead to power quality issues across electric infrastructure. 24 January/February 2026 Irish Manufacturing
www.irish-manufacturing.com
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