A New Flicker Contribution Tracing Method Based on Individual Reactive Current Components of Multiple EAFs at PCC

In this paper, a new flicker contribution tracing method has been proposed to determine the individual flicker contributions of multiple-electric-arc-furnace (EAF) loads to the flicker measured at the point of common coupling (PCC). The proposed method decouples the flicker contribution of the interconnected electricity system from the individual contributions of the loads connected to the measured PCC, using the individual current variations of the loads, and the estimated short-circuit system impedance. It has been shown that the individual flicker contributions of the loads are mainly caused by the variation of their reactive current components. Since the computational complexity of the proposed method is low, it is appropriate for online applications. The algorithm can easily be embedded on a power quality analyzer, which can be employed as a flicker contribution meter. Field data collected at a PCC supplying multi-EAF plants have been used to verify the validity of the proposed method in a successful manner.