Advanced Harmonics Measurement & Reporting

Frisco, TX  -  July 13, 2023 – Sentient Energy, provider of industry-leading grid solutions and services to enable data-driven decisions that enhance the delivery of safe, reliable, and efficient power, today announced new harmonics measurement and reporting capabilities for its analytics and line sensing solution, the MM3ai System. The solution’s identification and analysis of harmonics on overhead power distribution lines enables a more flexible, cost-effective way to measure harmonics with installation anywhere along feeders. Now, reliability teams can not only measure harmonics at the substation, they can also sense and measure elevated harmonics levels down-feeder, near industrial loads and capacitor banks. This allows utilities to better isolate harmonic sources, document their impact, and mitigate the resulting disturbances—improving power quality, customer satisfaction, reliability, and extending the lifetime of assets.  

Power systems are designed to operate at frequencies of 50 or 60Hz.  However, certain types of loads (such as renewable energy sources) produce currents and voltages with higher frequencies. These higher frequencies are unwanted noise in the system, called power system harmonics. Harmonics in power systems can have several negative effects, including degradation of power quality, reduced overall system efficiency, and equipment overheating, which can lead to equipment failures and poor power quality.   

Sentient Energy’s MM3ai System gives utilities a powerful new option to better and more flexibly measure and address system harmonics pollution. The system complements solutions installed in the substation by adding visibility and awareness along feeders and closer to the harmonics sources.  MM3ai line sensors are easily installed in minutes with a hot stick and are line-powered to reduce ongoing maintenance. Sentient Energy now provides sensor-based anomaly detection to provide a granular view of harmonics patterns in each feeder with a Harmonics Report that provides detailed insights to reliability and power quality teams so they can:  

• Pinpoint overhead feeders with elevated levels of harmonic disturbances to focus mitigation efforts. 
• Isolate sources of harmonics problems such as industrial loads, EVs or solar resources or capacitor banks amplifying harmonics. 
• Provide sensor data to justify the need for more actions or investments that will pre-empt problems before they escalate and cause costly damages.
• Assure grid codes and interconnection requirements with respect to harmonics are met continuously. 

“The latest advancements of our MM3ai System reinforce our commitment to helping utilities modernize the distribution grid and support growing electrification needs. The system provides a platform for data-driven advancements and applications such as harmonics tracking, giving utilities a scalable and effective way to extend their analytics capabilities and use cases,” said Mir Mousavi, Senior Director of Analytics at Sentient Energy. “The addition of harmonics measurement and reporting represents a more flexible and cost-effective solution for analyzing and pinpointing harmonic problems along feeders than was previously available in the industry.  As more EV and solar is added to the grid, harmonics problems are becoming a greater concern for utilities. Advanced analytics and intelligent line sensing will give utilities a powerful tool to identify and address their complex harmonics challenges proactively and predictably.”  

The updated Sentient Energy MM3ai System with support for harmonics measurement is available immediately. Additional MM3ai analytics capabilities are in development and are expected to become available by the end of 2023. For more information, visit Sentient Energy’s website at www.sentientenergy.com.