Power quality program "from source to socket"

Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) Division is the largest three-service public utility company in the United States. With a peak demand of 3360 MW in the summer of 2003, the electrical division is the largest customer of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). In a company of this size many issues compete for attention and resources. For many years power quality issues were treated in an informal manner and did not receive a large amount of attention. This changed in 1992 when MLGW made a formal commitment to power quality by assigning an engineer to pursue power quality concerns. This paper outlines the initiatives pursued by MLGW in developing a structured power quality program. An ongoing task in this development has been the education of utility and customer personnel in the aspects of power quality. The acquisition of appropriate power quality monitoring equipment was necessary so that technical assistance could be offered to customers with power quality problems. A formalized procedure to handle power quality complaints was developed so that technical assistance could be offered in a timely and cost effective manner. The power quality program at MLGW has been of great benefit in terms of customer satisfaction and generation of good will for the utility. This will be of significant importance as MLGW enters a deregulated electrical environment.