Harmonic distortion from induction furnace loads in a steel production plant

The use of induction furnaces for steelmaking has grown dramatically in the last decade throughout the world. The steel melting process involves the use of large quantities of energy in a short time and in some instances the process causes large decrease in the quality of electric power system to electricity users on the same network. In this paper, a new block for induction furnace was developed using MatLab Simulink software and the effect of induction furnace loads on the steel plant supply network was analyzed in terms of total harmonic distortions of voltage and current, using the developed block. Installation of a commensurate passive filter for distortion reduction was proposed, designed and simulated. The simulation of the installation of the designed passive filter shows that the filter reduced the distortions by approximately 60%, limiting the residual distortions to permissible values. The new block provided proved to be effective in harmonic distortion analysis in the power supply system of a steel production plant and can be applied for similar studies.Keywords: harmonics distortion, Induction furnace, passive filter, simulation and total harmonic distortion (THD), Nigeria

Evolution of Electricity Metering Technologies in Nigeria

Advancement in technology has continuously driven the evolution of metering devices and infrastructure in the world and has resulted in more accurate and user-friendly devices equipped with customer interaction interfaces. The evolution of metering technology in Nigeria arose with the unbundling of the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) but have not progressed smoothly and successfully despite the implementation of various reforms and policies in the Nigerian electricity industry. The persisting problems in the electricity distribution system such as energy theft, vandalism, energy wastage, high line losses can be overcome by the deployment of appropriate metering infrastructure. In the second quarter of 2020, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission revealed that the total registered customers and total metered customers are 10,516,090 and 4,234,759 respectively leaving a metering gap of 59.73%; after 124 years of commercial electricity availability in Nigeria. This paper discusses Nigeria's metering history and the challenges encountered in the transition of policies, technologies and government reforms. The paper also proposes the way forward to a successful transitioning into a smart distribution grid