Voltage fluctuations and very low voltage profile problems in distribution system under extreme load growth

Power distribution system face major faults, imbalance conditions, instability and forced outages in Pakistan from the last few decades. The reasons are the poor protective system, unbalanced load, aged and improper infrastructure and short fall in power generation than demand. Besides other technical issues, voltage fluctuations and very poor voltage profile are observed in the rural areas of Pakistan. The customer end voltages normally fluctuate between 20 Volts to 220 Volts in summer season and peak hour duration. The voltage fluctuations at such high frequency impacts badly the efficiency and useful life of equipment and home appliances. In this paper a detail analysis of voltage fluctuations and voltage profile of overloaded and unbalanced llkV radial feeder is presented. This work will be helpful in the enhancement of voltage profile and reducing voltage fluctuations. The statistical analysis of the data carried out shows that distribution feeder have a challenge of such type of issues. The causes and impacts of voltage flickering and poor voltage profile are also discussed.