Power Quality In Electricity - How It Affects Us

Hello Friends. A ku ipalemo odun (Compliments of the season). 

My post today is to share knowledge about a concept that affects everyone as users of electricity- power quality. 

The issue of power quality is quite familiar, especially if you live in Nigeria, as it constitutes one of the problems Discos, and in turn their customers, grapple with, resulting from poor power infrastructure. 

Power quality is the ability of distribution companies (NEPA in local parlance) to distribute standard electric current to their customers. By this I mean supply of electric current that is neither too full nor too low for the consumption of their customers. It results directly from efficient planning, investment on and distribution of power infrastructure by Discos such as transformers, distribution lines, buffer/shock system and others that adds quality to the supply offered to customers.

Whenever you experience low current in your house, it is the result of low power quality supplied by the transformer attached to your area which is an indication that the transformer is either faulty or overloaded. The loss at such times cannot be captured in real economic times because electrical appliances with high power demand like air conditioner, iron, washing machine, micro wave machine and others will not work efficiently. Aside the redundancy it promotes, low current have adverse effect on the life span of electrical appliances, reducing it by half. 

I look forward to the time Nigeria will stop recording instances of tragedy resulting from overloaded transformer and economic loss resulting from low power quality. We can encourage its proximity by sharing the knowledge until every consumer of electricity gets the awareness and know what standard to request from their sellers of power. 

Switch off the power when not in use of it this yuletide and perhaps Negawatt Santa could sneak you a gift this xmas.

See you soon.

WSO   

PRE-PAID METERS – PROMOTING EFFICIENT USE OF ENERGY

From experience I have observed that usage of pre-paid electricity meter promotes frugal management of electric energy. I remember when we used to get our monthly readings from analog meters issued by NEPA- you know the type with its spinning dial and archaic log. This system of billing customers was not only crude and prone to corruption; its debit nature encouraged wastage, arbitrariness or estimated billings, refusal to pay and bankruptcy of power companies.  

Today the case is somewhat different. Discos all over are providing smart pre-paid meters to their customers, which from my observation, results in better management of their electricity credit. How it happens is not rocket science. Pre-paid meters brings out the value of electric credit when loaded by customers because they can see how it depletes with every minute that passes, with every current used up in providing “light”. Just like call credit is used up when we make call on our cell phones, electric credit loaded in pre-paid meters is expended the same way to provide electricity.

With pre-paid meters, customers now know the importance of using low wattage appliances and gadgets which is a smart way of economizing on their energy supply. For instance, I observed that  pre-paid meters supplied by Ikeja Electric nowadays promote the replacement of conventional bulbs to energy saving bulbs (CFLs) by their customers who are made aware of energy guzzling properties of those 80 and 100 watts light bulbs when their energy credit run out within weeks of loading it. Same behavior is observed in industries and other customers with high energy demand.  Since energy credit is bought with cash before it is loaded into the meters, the value of energy they supply is better appreciated now by customers.

I sincerely hope the Discos will heed the admonition of Mr. Raji Fashola (SAN) and supply pre-paid meters to their customers. Its advantages are far reaching. Pre-paid meters eliminate estimated billing on the part of Discos, in the way bringing probity to the billing system. It also cuts wastage in energy use by customers, bringing out the immeasurable value of negawatt to the good people of Nigeria. If you are yet to get a pre-paid meter, I urge you to go and place order for one with your Disco. You will become a better manager of your energy when you start using it. Cheers!!

WSO