Wijaya HWatson NBonnett G2018-06-072018-06-072016Wijaya H, Watson N, Bonnett G. The power quality trend in a New Zealand distribution company, EEA Conference & Exhibition 2016, June 2016, Wellington.http://hdl.handle.net/10092/15518Power Quality is an important aspect of network operation as poor power quality causes significant economic loss and disruption. As technology develops, the characteristics of equipment utilising the electrical system is changing. The question is whether this is affecting power quality on the network. The desire for more renewable generation and the drive for energy efficiency with smart appliances and equipment are all changing the equipment being deployed. In this paper an analysis of the trends in the different power quality indices that have occurred over the years is given. This is a difficult task as it requires significant amounts of data which can only be obtained by deploying many PQ monitors and monitoring the output over many years. Fortunately Orion had the foresight to start rolling out PQ monitors in 2007. Although this is only for one electricity distribution company, the trends are expected to be similar since the same technology is deployed throughout the country. How close the trends follow Orion’s needs to be verified. The power quality indices analysed were 3rd, 5th & 7th harmonic voltages, voltage Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) Absolute Voltage Deviation (AVD) and Voltage Unbalance Factor (VUF). It was found that the observed network does exhibit noticeable trends, particularly in the fall and rise of the 5th and 7th voltage harmonic levels respectively. This was found to be consistent with recent technological developments and their uptake. There is a need to continue to monitor the effects of emerging technologies so as to identify possible problems before they occur and mitigate potential problems by requiring minimum standards or restricting technologies that could have an adverse effect on the network and ensure adequate power quality levels are maintained2018-06-06Fields of Research::40 - Engineering::4017 - Mechanical engineering::401703 - Energy generation, conversion and storage (excl. chemical and electrical)