A Frequency Domain Approach to Characterize and Analyze Load Profiles

This paper proposes a frequency domain approach to characterize and analyze load profiles. It first establishes the methodology and then discusses the prerequisite conditions and the benefits. Using real load data from three utilities, the paper will demonstrate that the customer classes' load profiles can be accurately represented by their significant harmonics in a compact and flexible format. The frequency domain statistics from the same load dataset is also analyzed and discussed to show the benefits and how new knowledge can be gained from using this approach.