A. introduction
1. Electric energy is produced through production facilities connected at all voltage levels to the electricity grid and is delivered through transmission and distribution lines to electricity consumers. Along the electricity supply chain, from the production facilities to the end consumers, systems are installed whose role is to maintain the level of nominal voltages in each segment. Exceeding the nominal values allowed in the various voltages causes damage to the quality of electricity supplied to consumers.
2. Despite the presence of the aforementioned systems, various events occur in the electricity network or in the consumption or production facilities (hereinafter: facility) that cause damage to the supplied electric voltage (hereinafter: interruptions). The origin of some of these disturbances is in the electricity network itself, as a result of failures in network components for example. The origin of the other part of the disturbances is in the electrical equipment installed by the consumers or the producers themselves – these disturbances may cause damage to the electricity network of an essential service provider (such as an electricity company) and even to the equipment of the producers and consumers themselves or to their work processes. For information about the types of interference that affect the quality of electricity – see the appendix.
3. Israeli standard 50160 defines threshold values for changes in electrical parameters mentioned above. In the standard, there is a reference to the maximum level of changes allowed in the electrical network feeding the facility in order to maintain electrical equipment, as well as requirements for the electrical equipment itself to function at the voltage levels to which it is connected, without creating disturbances to the network.
4. Over the years, the authority dealt with a number of individual issues concerning the quality of electricity, and among other things, it also published a hearing to amend standard 41 dealing with electricity quality. The Authority intends to examine whether further adjustments are required in the regulation in order to improve service to consumers.
B. the requested information
In light of the above, the Authority wishes to receive information from the public, and in particular from the public high voltage consumers or other consumers who are particularly sensitive to electricity quality problems regarding the issues listed above. Common types of disturbances in the electricity network are detailed in the appendix attached to this document
.
1. Information about disturbances caused to the consumption or production facility, including:
A. The name of the facility and its location in the country;
B. The type of facility such as: a machining factory, a food factory, a textile factory, an electricity production facility, etc.;
third. Description of the industrial production process, the sensitive points in the process and the type of damages caused or that may be caused as a result of damage to the quality of electricity;
d. As far as possible, the most significant type of interference to which the plant is sensitive, as detailed in the appendix;
God. Actions performed by the consumer or the producer, as the case may be, in the private facility and the level of investment invested in the facility in order to defend against problems arising from the quality of the electricity;
and. Has the facility experienced a decline in the quality of electricity from the grid in recent years? If so, we will be grateful for the detail;
G. Is a power quality monitoring system (disruption recorder) installed at the consumption facility? As far as it is installed, what are the types of problems that are recorded in the interference recorder devices installed in consumption or production facilities?;
H. Are systems installed in the facility to protect the quality of electricity?
2. Information about handling incidents of electricity quality decline:
ninth. Has a request been made in recent years to provide an essential service for the treatment of disorders originating from the Internet?
J. If so, what was the response of the essential service provider? Has a solution been proposed? If so, what was the proposed solution and were the problems resolved?
3. Yes, we would like to receive the public’s position on the following issues:
A. Changes or adjustments required in Israeli standard 50160;
B. Solutions available in the market for protection against poor power quality; Private companies that offer manufacturers and consumers solutions are also requested to transfer to the Authority, as much as they wish, information about the protection systems offered by them and an estimate of their costs to manufacturers and end consumers.
third. Proposals for services that an essential service provider can offer to consumers or producers who require a unique level of electricity quality for an additional fee.
third. Receiving the information and deadlines
In order to examine the public’s positions and formulate a position on the matter as soon as possible, we will request the public’s position by 06/01/2023.
Consumer and producer organizations are asked to convey the calling voice to their members for the purpose of receiving their individual attention as much as they are interested in it.
The Electricity Authority will keep the information it receives confidential and will not make any use of it except for the purposes presented in this document.
Appendix – types of disturbances that affect the quality of electricity
A. Voltage Variation – an increase or decrease in the voltage caused, usually, due to the change in the load in the distribution system.
B. Rapid Voltage Change – transition from one stable voltage level to another stable voltage level as a result of a single and rapid change of the effective voltage value.
third. Voltage Fluctuation – a series of voltage changes or a cyclical change of the voltage envelope caused by load fluctuations in consumers such as: arc furnaces, gravel crushers, welders, etc.
d. Flicker – voltage fluctuations that cause, for example, the brightness of incandescent bulbs to change and the lighting to flicker.
God. Voltage dips (Voltage Dip, Sag) – a sudden drop in the supply voltage to a value between 10%-90% of the fixed nominal voltage in the standards, after which the voltage returns to its previous value.
and. Temporary Power-Frequency Overvoltage – overvoltage for a period of time between 40 milliseconds and 10 minutes caused by a single-phase short, sudden load drop or generator disconnection from the network.
G. Transient Overvoltage – overvoltage for a short period of time, fluctuating or non-fluctuating.
H. Harmonic Distortion – The generators that supply energy to the electrical network produce a clean sine wave at their output. Harmonic distortion is a distortion of the voltage and current waveform as a result of connecting non-linear loads to the power grid.
ninth. Voltage Unbalance – a situation where in a three-phase system the voltage values between two adjacent phases or the angles between two adjacent phases are not equal.