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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "F1: Electrical Power System".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 September 2025 | Viewed by 8624

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Marcel Nicola

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Guest Editor

Research and Development Department, National Institute for Research, Development and Testing in Electrical Engineering, ICMET Craiova, 200746 Craiova, Romania
Interests: SCADA control theory; electric drives
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Prof. Dr. Petre-Marin Nicolae

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Guest Editor

Department of Electrical Engineering and Energetic Doctoral School, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Craiova, 200440 Craiova, Romania
Interests: power quality
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Prof. Dr. Dan Selisteanu

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Guest Editor

Department of Automatic Control and Electronics, University of Craiova, 200585 Craiova, Romania
Interests: adaptive systems; vibrational control; nonlinear control; power electronics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Guest Editors are inviting submissions to a Special Issue of Energies on the subject area of “Advances in Electrical Power System Quality”.

Power systems are in constant evolution due to many factors (high rate of renewable energy integration, new electric vehicles, intelligent buildings), and the existence of harmonics in power distribution systems is treated as the most serious issue affecting their stability and reliability. Active power filters compensate the harmonics to improve the power quality and to keep the total harmonic distortion below 5%, as per IEEE-519. Therefore, optimization and control techniques are important for the efficient use of energy systems. As a result, it is necessary to manage complex processes—namely, the energy flows in the electrical grid—for stability, power quality improvement and other technical and economic issues.

Complex processes can be described by nonlinear models (e.g., by using differential equations), and find key control applications in the electrical grid.

At present, there is a great deal of expectation concerning the use of various intelligent control techniques in order to control nonlinear and complex processes, in many cases associated with the emergence of advanced artificial intelligence.

Intelligent control is a computationally efficient procedure for guiding a complex system in an uncertain environment toward a certain goal. Therefore, an intelligent control technique needs to learn about both the process and the environment to be a part of the control system.

There are many definitions and classifications of intelligent control. However, it can be defined as a class of control techniques that use various artificial intelligence computing approaches like neural networks, fuzzy logic, machine learning, evolutionary computation, genetic algorithms, etc.

This Special Issue is proposed to bring together researchers, scientists and engineers from academia and industry in order to disseminate ideas and results related to the use of advanced techniques in the intelligent control of energy flows in the electrical grid for stability and power quality improvement.

This Special Issue will deal with novel optimization and control techniques for electrical power systems quality. Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

Power system control and quality;
Neural networks and fuzzy logic control for electrical power systems quality;
Reinforcement-learning-based control for electrical power systems quality;
Intelligent optimization and applications to electrical power systems quality;
Wavelet transform;
Energy management system.

Theoretical and practical studies are equally encouraged. Application areas include energy systems (renewable energy, smart grids, electric drives), automotive industry, etc.

Prof. Dr. Marcel Nicola
Prof. Dr. Petre-Marin Nicolae
Prof. Dr. Dan Selisteanu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

power electronics
power systems quality
energy system
optimization techniques
control methods
energy storage system
renewable energy
evolutionary computation
genetic algorithms
AI

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 5834 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Modeling Technique for High-Efficiency Battery Packs in Battery-Powered Railway System

by Jae-Uk Sim, Seon-Woong Kim and In-Ho Cho

Energies 2025, 18(5), 1272; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18051272 - 5 Mar 2025

Viewed by 471

Abstract

Battery modules in eco-friendly mobility are composed of series and parallel connections of multiple lithium-ion battery cells. As the number of lithium-ion cells in the battery module increases, the cell connection configuration becomes a critical factor affecting the module’s usable capacity efficiency. Therefore, careful consideration of this factor is essential in battery module design. Various design elements have been studied to optimize the performance of battery modules. Among these elements, the method of terminal connection affects the distribution of resistance components in each cell, causing DOD (Depth of Discharge) variation. Previous research has focused on determining the optimal terminal placement and cell connection method to minimize DOD variation between cells. However, these studies did not consider temperature effects. Since temperature acts as a major variable affecting the DOD of each cell, comprehensive research that includes this factor is necessary. This research performed 3D thermal flow analysis using Ansys Fluent 2024 R2 and validated the simulation environment by comparing actual experimental and simulation results for a single cell. Based on the validated simulation environment, this research analyzed the impact of temperature distribution on cell performance in a 4S3P module and proposed a method of terminal connection, which achieved a 70% reduction in SOC deviation compared to conventional methods. Additionally, this research suggests that when the module configuration changes, a new design approach specific to that configuration is necessary to minimize SOC deviation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Electrical Power System Quality)

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15 pages, 702 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Planning for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure in Distribution Networks to Support Long-Range Electric Trucks

by Joshua Then, Ashish P. Agalgaonkar and Kashem M. Muttaqi

Energies 2025, 18(4), 785; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18040785 - 8 Feb 2025

Viewed by 633

Abstract

Electrification of the transport sector introduces operational issues in the electricity distribution network, such as excessive voltage deviation, substation overloading, and adverse power quality impacts on other network loads. These concerns are expected to grow as electrification expands to incorporate heavy vehicles such as trucks and buses due to their greater energy requirements and higher charging loads. Two strategies are proposed to support medium- and heavy-duty chargers which address their high power demand and mitigate power quality disturbances and the overloading of substations. The first is a dedicated feeder connected at the secondary of the substation directly to the charging station which aims to reduce the impact of high load on other customers. The second is the addition of a dedicated substation that solely provides power for charging stations in major corridors, alleviating stress on existing zone substations. Hosting capacity is measured using a voltage deviation index, describing the deviation in line voltage, which should experience a sag of no more than 6% of the nominal voltage, and a substation charging capacity index, describing the available capacity of each zone substation as a ratio of its total power capacity. Verification of the proposed strategies was performed on an MV-LV distribution network representative of an industrial Australian town with heavy-vehicle charging. Results showed that the network could handle ten 250 kW chargers, which was tripled to 35 with a dedicated feeder. The dedicated feeder alternatively allowed up to 10 megawatt-scale chargers, which was again tripled when a dedicated substation was introduced. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Electrical Power System Quality)

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29 pages, 10283 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Multi-Fault-Tolerant Operation of Grid-Interfaced Photovoltaic Inverters Using Twin Delayed Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient Agent

by Shyamal S. Chand, Branislav Hredzak and Maurizio Cirrincione

Energies 2025, 18(1), 44; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18010044 - 26 Dec 2024

Viewed by 775

Abstract

The elevated penetration of renewable energy has seen a significant increase in the integration of inverter-based resources (IBRs) into the electricity network. According to various industrial standards on interconnection and interoperability, IBRs should be able to withstand variability in grid conditions. Positive sequence voltage-oriented control (PSVOC) with a feed-forward decoupling approach is often adopted to ensure closed-loop control of inverters. However, the dynamic response of this control scheme deteriorates during fluctuations in the grid voltage due to the sensitivity of proportional–integral controllers, the presence of the direct- and quadrature-axis voltage terms in the cross-coupling, and predefined saturation limits. As such, a twin delayed deep deterministic policy gradient-based voltage-oriented control (TD3VOC) is formulated and trained to provide effective current control of inverter-based resources under various dynamic conditions of the grid through transfer learning. The actor–critic-based reinforcement learning agent is designed and trained using the model-free Markov decision process through interaction with a grid-connected photovoltaic inverter environment developed in MATLAB/Simulink^® 2023b. Using the standard PSVOC method results in inverter input voltage overshoots of up to 2.50 p.u., with post-fault current restoration times of as high as 0.55 s during asymmetrical faults. The designed TD3VOC technique confines the DC link voltage overshoot to 1.05 p.u. and achieves a low current recovery duration of 0.01 s after fault clearance. In the event of a severe symmetric fault, the conventional control method is unable to restore the inverter operation, leading to integral-time absolute errors of 0.60 and 0.32 for the currents of the d and q axes, respectively. The newly proposed agent-based control strategy restricts cumulative errors to 0.03 and 0.09 for the d and q axes, respectively, thus improving inverter regulation. The results indicate the superior performance of the proposed control scheme in maintaining the stability of the inverter DC link bus voltage, reducing post-fault system recovery time, and limiting negative sequence currents during severe asymmetrical and symmetrical grid faults compared with the conventional PSVOC approach. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Electrical Power System Quality)

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26 pages, 6574 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of the Impact of Volt/VAR Control on Harmonics Content and Alternative Harmonic Mitigation Methods

by Krzysztof Lowczowski, Jaroslaw Gielniak, Zbigniew Nadolny and Magdalena Udzik

Energies 2024, 17(22), 5561; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17225561 - 7 Nov 2024

Viewed by 932

Abstract

This article presents information about harmonic distortion and resonance in distribution networks. The theory behind harmonics and resonance is presented. Examples from the literature and the results of power quality measurements, as well as the authors’ experiences connected with significant changes in harmonic distortions, are presented. The harmonic resonance phenomenon is explained, and the risk of resonance in a distribution system network is highlighted. Attention is paid to the connection of a new power plant to the network; however, other risks, e.g., those connected to network reconfiguration, are also highlighted. Further simulation case studies are presented to show interactions between volt/VAR control and harmonic distortion. Simulations consider a few scenarios: impact of voltage change on impedance characteristics and resulting harmonics amplitudes, the impact of a capacitor on impedance characteristics, and the impact of network expansion on harmonic distortion. The final part presents alternative, low-cost harmonics mitigation methods. The concept of the utilization of phase-shifting transformers for two twin-type 1 MW plants located next to each other is verified by on-site measurement. The concept of adapting the harmonics spectrum of new devices to impedance characteristics is presented. Finally, an alternative concept for active mitigation of harmonics under resonance conditions is provided. The concept is based on the reactive power correction in order to change the harmonics phase shift. A comparison of harmonic mitigation methods and general recommendations are provided. Further research is outlined. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Electrical Power System Quality)

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33 pages, 19284 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Electrical Transients in Industrial Facilities

by Attila Kovács, Judit Somogyiné Molnár and Károly Jármai

Energies 2024, 17(17), 4215; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17174215 - 23 Aug 2024

Viewed by 854

Abstract

It is essential to protect control, regulation and data storage units used in automated robotic manufacturing from the consequences of harmful electrical grid harmonics. In this paper, the effectiveness of active/passive harmonic filters built into LED lamps, test benches, and industrial robots was investigated (in the latter two cases, light and heavy load states were applied). Based on network analysis, it was found that the built-in passive harmonic filters of the luminaries were ineffective because the THD of the current was approximately two or three times the permissible value according to the IEEE 519-2022 standard. It was proved that the built-in active harmonic filter of the test bench at a heavy load worked properly, but at a light load it was not effective, while the magnitude of harmonic distortion of the industrial robot exceeded the allowed level (three times the limit at a light load, seven times the limit at a heavy load). Further measurements were also performed at three locations: an engineering room, a gearbox house machine tool, and an office room (where there were no built-in filters). The results proved that in each case, there was a significant exceedance of the limit value. Therefore, protection against harmonics needs to be installed, and then the measurements must be repeated. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Electrical Power System Quality)

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22 pages, 20323 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation and Analysis of the Power Quality in an Academic Institution’s Electrical Distribution System

by Khaled M. Alawasa and Abdullah H. Al-Badi

Energies 2024, 17(16), 3998; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17163998 - 13 Aug 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1011

Abstract

The presence of non-linear, time-variant loads in power networks introduces harmonics and other power quality issues in voltage and current waveforms. With the growing prevalence of power electronics, managing harmonic distortion has become a significant challenge in modern power distribution systems. This study aims to assess and analyze power quality at various locations within an academic institution (Sultan Qaboos University). The study encompasses the outputs of PV converters, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), chillers with variable-speed motors, 11 kV/415 V transformers at both the College of Engineering and the Center of Information Systems, as well as two main substations supplying power to the university (33 kV/11 kV). Data collected—such as harmonic content in current and voltage waveforms and Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)—were meticulously analyzed to identify the factors affecting waveform quality. Measurements were conducted using advanced power quality instruments (Fluke 435-II), and the data were analyzed using MATLAB software. The study reveals that most results adhered to both the Oman grid code and international standards. The findings and methodology presented in this paper provide a critical benchmark for guiding standards compliance as Sultan Qaboos University, and other academic institution, undertakes the modernization of aging equipment and the expansion of new high-tech facilities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Electrical Power System Quality)

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19 pages, 3158 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Voltage Rise Mitigation in Medium-Voltage Networks with Long Underground Cables and Low Power Demand

by Deni Ćetković, Josip Žutolija and Vitomir Komen

Energies 2024, 17(13), 3174; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17133174 - 27 Jun 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1024

Abstract

Medium-voltage (MV) distribution networks that are spread through larger territory and threatened by extreme weather conditions are sometimes formed by very long underground cable lines. In such circumstances, a significant amount of capacitive reactive power flow can be generated. If, concurrently, there is low power demand in the network, it can result in significant reverse reactive power flows and voltage rise issues. This paper proposes a general approach for analyzing and mitigating voltage rise issues and demonstrates it using an example of a real distribution network that operates under the described conditions. Previous studies that dealt with this problem did not include the allocation of multiple shunt reactors in a larger distribution network, modeling a high number of lines that create reverse reactive power flows, and modeling the main distribution transformers, which are the locations where voltage rise predominantly occurs. In this paper, we demonstrate that precise allocation and placement of multiple shunt reactors in a fully modeled, larger distribution system, including transformer models, can reduce reverse reactive power flows, thereby improving voltage in the distribution system. If hourly control of the power factor from the distributed generation unit is also implemented, the voltage can be further improved. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Electrical Power System Quality)

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13 pages, 2431 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Reactive Power in Electrical Networks Supplying Nonlinear Fast-Varying Loads

by Yuriy Sayenko, Ryszard Pawelek and Tetiana Baranenko

Energies 2023, 16(24), 8011; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16248011 - 11 Dec 2023

Viewed by 1057

Abstract

This study concerns problems related to the assessment of reactive power in power networks with nonlinear fast-varying loads, such as electric arc furnaces, rolling mill drives, etc. The operation of this type of load is characterized by the introduction of interharmonic currents (including higher harmonics) into the power supply network and a relatively low power factor. Rapid changes in the RMS value of the current also cause voltage fluctuations and the related phenomenon of light-flickering. Therefore, there is a need to evaluate the power selection of compensating devices, taking into account the random nature of load changes and the distortion of current and voltage waveforms, in particular, interharmonic components, the impact of which has not been fully investigated so far. To analyze the random nature of load changes, autocorrelation functions were used, which allowed for the estimation of the expected values of the arc furnace current distortion coefficient (based on the recorded waveforms). In order to determine the parameters of reactive power compensating devices, and in particular capacitor banks, an autocorrelation function in the exponential-cosine-sine form was used, which meets the conditions of differentiation. This study contains comparative results of the reactive power of capacitor banks determined using different methods. The criterion for selecting capacitor bank parameters was the minimization of energy losses in the power supply network. The calculations presented in this study show that by taking into account higher harmonics and interharmonics in the voltage and currents of fast-varying loads, the installed power of the capacitor bank can be reduced by approximately 7%, and energy losses in the power grid can be reduced by 3–5%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Electrical Power System Quality)

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Review

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18 pages, 2147 KiB

Open AccessReview

Review of Uncertainty Sources in Optical Current Sensors Used in Power Systems

by Marcelo M. Costa, Maria A. G. Martinez and João C. W. A. Costa

Energies 2024, 17(16), 4162; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17164162 - 21 Aug 2024

Viewed by 1173

Abstract

Optical current sensors have been developed and improved over the past few decades, and they have been increasingly employed in power systems, including smart and high-voltage grids. This is due to their many advantages over conventional electromagnetic current sensors, such as reduced size and weight, greater operational safety, and electromagnetic immunity. Like any measuring instrument or system, their quality and reliability are associated with measurement uncertainty, which quantifies their precision. This measurement uncertainty depends on a series of influencing quantities, such as the wavelength of light used in the sensor, the birefringence of the optical material used in the construction of the sensor, and environmental conditions, such as temperature and vibration. This article presents a review of the main influences that affect the quality and performance of optical current sensors and how these influences can be used to estimate measurement uncertainty. The main objective is to serve as a guide or reference for the identification and evaluation of uncertainty sources in optical current sensors used in power systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Electrical Power System Quality)

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