Power quality requirements sometimes become problematic about 24 months prior to energisation. These issues are usually seeded in the contract between the utility and the project. I can help to interpret and review the utility's bilateral connection agreement or other contractual requirements for the power quality aspects of grid connection.
Utilities and project teams have the same goal—connecting customers, but sometimes the utility can seem opaque, and a project team's time pressures are not always understood. Building bridges between technical resources on both sides and establishing regular, constructive discussion with the utility can help avoid any issues.
Since the introduction of offshore competition, offshore transmission owners have found their feet in all technical disciplines of network design. Decisions relating to power quality—particularly harmonics—made at the beginning of the project can have a major impact further on. A cohesive strategy that anticipates the risks and plans effectively is essential and must reflect the contractual position between the offshore and onshore transmission owners.
Competition is coming onshore, and with ER G5/5 coming into play, the power quality arena is changing. In these early stages of onshore competition, it is crucial that risk and cost components associated with power quality are anticipated and assigned fairly. Voltage quality poses many technical challenges and risks that require the new ONTO to position itself strategically in order to deliver a cost-effective Grid Code compliant solution.